Oil prices down as top crude importer China widens Covid-19 curbs
Oil prices fell on Friday after top crude importer China widened its Covid-19 curbs, though benchmarks were poised for a weekly gain on supply concerns and surprisingly positive economic data. Brent crude futures dropped 87 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $96.09 a barrel by 1309 GMT, having climbed by 1.3 per cent in the previous session. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $1.02, or 1.2 per cent, at $88.06.
Both benchmarks, however, were on course for a weekly rise of about 3 per cent.
Friday’s declines came after Chinese cities ramped up Covid-19 curbs on Thursday, sealing up buildings and locking down districts in a scramble to halt widening outbreaks.
