Oil prices largely unchanged amid demand hopes, interest rate hike
NEW DELHI: Oil prices were largely unchanged in early Asian trade on Thursday as traders weighed optimism over China’s demand outlook against the possibility of further interest rate hikes from global central banks.
Brent crude futures were up 1 cent at $82.71 per barrel at 0121 GMT while US crude futures fell 4 cents to $77.24.
The market was bolstered by projections from the International Energy Agency seeing Chinese oil demand recovering next year after a 400,000-bpd contraction in 2022. The agency raised its 2023 oil demand growth estimate to 1.7 million bpd for a total of 101.6 million bpd.
