New York West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures closed higher on Thursday (March 2), citing signs of a strong economic recovery in China, the world’s top crude importer. This was boosted by support from Atlanta-based Federal Reserve Bank President Rafael Bostic, to the Fed to slow its pace of rate hikes.
- The WTI crude oil contract will be introduced in April. They were up 47 cents, or 0.6%, at $78.16 a barrel.
- The Brent crude oil contract (BRENT) will be introduced in April. They were up 44 cents, or 0.52%, at $84.75 a barrel.
WTI crude futures closed in positive territory for the third day in a row as investors continued to welcome data indicating a recovery in China’s economy. China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose in February to 52.6 from 50.1 in January, the fastest expansion in 11 years. Services for February rose to 56.3 from 54.4 in January.
An index above 50 indicates expansion in China’s manufacturing and service sectors. This is a sign that China’s economy is starting to improve. after the government canceled measures to control COVID-19
Markets were also boosted by Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic’s support for the Fed to slow its pace of rate hikes. He believes that raising interest rates by only 0.25% continuously is a reasonable step. And it will help mitigate the economic impact of the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes several times in the past.
However, crude oil futures fell into positive range. Because the appreciation of the dollar leads to crude oil contracts, which are priced in dollars. More expensive and less attractive to investors holding other currencies
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.52 percent to 105.0284 overnight.
By InfoQuest News Agency (03 Mar. ’23)
Tags: BRENT , WTI , oil , crude oil , oil price
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