By Adedapo Adesanya
It was good news for the Brent crude as it went up more than 4 percent on Wednesday to rise back above $60 per barrel after three days of losses due to pressures from the US-China trade war and speculations about a weakening global economy.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose by 4.1 percent to trade $60.64 per barrel, rebounding after falling by as much as 2.5 percent in the previous session.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude, gained 4.2 percent to $56.19 per barrel, boosted by stronger market sentiment on Wednesday. This put WTI on track for its biggest daily percentage increase since July 10.
Traders and analysts said the market was rebounding after stronger economic figures out of China had calmed fears of a global slump, though data from the US and Europe still point to a slowdown in manufacturing.
Business Post gathers that oil analysts also pointed to the expectation of shrinking US oil inventories, with government data on stockpiles due out on Thursday.
A new batch of US sanctions on Iran’s oil industry also supported the rally, analysts said, with Washington indicating it will ramp up its maximum pressure approach towards exports from the country.
According to experts, OPEC and its allies are expected to keep production curbs in place, which have slowly tightened supplies.
Dipo Olowookere