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Oil prices rallied on Wednesday to extend recent gains after OPEC forecast that Chinese oil demand is on track for a bounce.
Benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 1.4 percent to $87.15 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were up 1.8 percent at $81.84.
OPEC said on Tuesday in its monthly report that Chinese oil demand would rebound this year due to the recent relaxation of the country’s COVID-19 containment measures.
OPEC also sounded an optimistic note on the prospects for the world economy in 2023, saying a stronger Chinese economy would drive global growth.
OPEC raised its 2022 world economic growth estimate to 3 percent and left 2023’s forecast steady at 2.5 percent.
Official data on Tuesday showed that China’s GDP grew an annual 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter, weaker than the 3.9 percent expansion seen in the third quarter but faster than the 1.8 percent increase economists had expected.
The International Monetary Fund’s First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said in a message from Davos that global growth will improve in the second half of this year and into 2024.
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