Oil prices rose on Thursday and expanded its earnings in the previous two sessions with strong signs of economic recovery in China, the world’s largest oil importer, but the gains were limited to concerns about the increase in US crude oil stocks and general global demand.
Brent crude futures rose 12 cents, or 0.1%, at 0445 GMT to $84.43 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.1%, at $77.78.
Both contracts increased approximately 1 %in the previous session after the data showed the fastest growth of a period of more than a decade in February, which accompanied the recovery in the second-largest economy in the world after the abolition of tight COVID-19 curbs.
However, the increase in crude oil stocks in the United States in a consecutive week has limited the market earnings.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the US crude oil stocks increased by 1.2 million barrels per week ending February 24 and reached 480.2 million barrels, and reached the highest level since May 2021. Some analysts were expecting an increase of only 500,000 barrels.
The biggest economy in Europe is increasing in Germany in February and despite the increase in food and energy prices despite the increase in food and energy prices, the expectations of the European Central Bank (ECB) are increasing.
The improvement came after Europe’s key economies, France and Spain’s unexpected increases in inflation.
In the USA, manufacturing was narrowed for the fourth time in February, but there were signs that the factory activity began to stabilize, and new orders withdrew from a low level of more than 2.5 years.
German inflation has increased concerns that the ECB should be more aggressive in the tightening cycle. The US data shows that the economy is still slowing down, but some sections are healed.
Oil seems to be stuck in a trading range, but the risks are clearly up. Some traders may be waiting until next Friday, the highest ratio after the non -agricultural employment report.
Meanwhile, crude oil processed by Indian refiners reached record levels in January, provisional government data on Wednesday showed, as the country boosted imports of Russian barrels that Western countries shunned.
Refinery throughput in the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer reached 5.39 million barrels per day for January, the highest.
