New York, May 2, 2022 (AFP) – Oil prices closed slightly higher on Monday (2), after a volatile session, affected by weakening Chinese demand and the prospect, closer than ever, of a European embargo on Russian oil.
A barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June delivery rose 0.45% to close at $105.17 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Meanwhile, in London, after losing nearly 4%, a barrel of North Sea Brent for July delivery closed up 0.41% at $107.58.
“It’s a market that lives at the pace of international news,” summarized Stephen Schork, analyst and author of the Schork Report.
First, prices fell sharply due to the lack of improvement in the sanitary situation in China and signs of a slowdown since the beginning of the new wave of confinements in the Asian giant.
Chinese manufacturing activity hit its lowest level since February 2020.
The Managerial Purchasing Index, a key gauge of manufacturing activity in the country, reached 47.4 points, below the threshold of 50 that separates growth from contraction, as officials warn that the “decline in production and demand” has increased.
Prices then rose again, due to information according to which the European Union would this week announce a timetable for abandoning Russian oil because of the invasion of Ukraine, launched by Moscow on February 24.
The “tone of the market is biased to the upside,” said Schork, who cited increased demand for gasoline during the northern hemisphere summer as one factor driving prices.
