International oil prices held steady on Friday (March 3), but oil prices were on track to end the week higher as renewed optimism about a recovery in Chinese demand overshadowed recession fears from rising U.S. crude inventories and tighter monetary policy in Europe . NYMEX crude oil looks at $80.19.
At 16:36 Beijing time, NYMEX crude oil futures rose 0.04% to $78.19 a barrel; ICE Brent crude futures rose 0.05% to $84.79 a barrel.
The two cities have risen more than 2% this week, with the market expecting strong growth in fuel demand in China, the world‘s top oil importer. pressure.
China’s Caixin Services PMI for February, released on Friday, hit a six-month high, with the service sector expanding faster than in January. China’s manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than a decade in February, reinforcing expectations for a recovery in China’s fuel demand.
Inflation in the euro zone slowed at a slower pace than expected last month, boosting expectations for further rate hikes by the European Central Bank. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde confirmed on Thursday (March 2) that the central bank still hopes to raise interest rates by 50 basis points on March 16. The market also expects another 50 basis point hike in May.
Despite a 10th straight weekly build in U.S. crude stockpiles, Russia plans to further cut oil exports in March by 25% from February levels, which, combined with strong Chinese demand, should pave the way for higher prices in the second half of 2023.
On the daily chart, NYMEX crude oil showed repeated bottoming after approaching $70 in December last year. Oil prices seem to be struggling to break below $72. If the oil price starts an upward wave III from US$73.80, it will approach the 61.8% target of US$78.97, and is expected to further rise to the 76.4% target of US$80.19. Wave iii is a sub-wave of the upward (iii) wave that started from $72.25, and wave (iii) is a sub-wave of the upward ((i)) wave that started from $70.08.