Oil prices continue to rise – China’s corona policy burdens

Oil prices continued their upward trend towards the weekend. The price of a barrel of the North Sea variety Brent rose by $ 3.64 to $ 111.09 compared to the previous day.

Oil prices on Friday continued their gains from the previous day. Most recently, a barrel (159 liters) of the North Sea variety Brent cost $ 111.09. That was $3.64 more than on Thursday. The price of a barrel of the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) variety increased by $ 3.97 to $ 110.09.

Oil prices have now largely made up for the significant losses at the beginning of the week. On Tuesday, the WTI price had temporarily fallen below $ 100. “The latest price increase took place despite the fact that the EU oil embargo against Russia could be delayed, as Hungary continues to block it,” commented Commerzbank expert Carsten Fritsch.

The oil market has been in a state of tension between opposing forces for some time. The supply conditions have already been talking about rising oil prices for a few weeks. The relationship between the West and Russia has deteriorated significantly because of the war in Ukraine. As a result of sanctions, Russian crude oil hardly finds buyers in Western countries.

Crude oil prices, on the other hand, are being weighed down by the gloomy economic outlook. A big topic at the moment is the strict corona policy of China, which is a severe burden on the economy of the world’s second largest economy. Due to the high importance of China for world trade, there are also risks for global economic development.