Oil prices were set to snap a two-week losing streak despite trading marginally lower early on Friday, amid optimism about higher energy demand from top crude importer China and a weaker dollar. Brent futures dipped 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $75.50 a barrel by 0341 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 16 cents, also 0.2%, to $70.46 a barrel. Both benchmarks surged about 3% during the prior session.
Data on Thursday showed China‘s oil refinery throughput rose 15.4% in May from a year earlier, hitting its second-highest total on record. Chinese demand for oil is expected to keep climbing at an assured rate during the second half of the year, Kuwait Petroleum Corp’s CEO said. In the United States, data released on Thursday showed retail sales unexpectedly rose in May, along with higher-than-expected jobless claims last week. The dollar fell to a five-week low versus a basket of other currencies.
