Oil prices rose around 1% on Friday, extending gains from the previous trading session after data showed lower fuel inventories following a winter storm that hit the United States at the year end.
Brent crude futures last gained 79 cents, or 1%, to $79.48 a barrel at 0203 GMT, after settling up 85 cents at $78.69 on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were also up 80 cents, or 1.1%, at $74.47 a barrel. They had settled 83 cents higher at $73.67 in the previous session.
While services activity in China contracted in December for a fourth straight month amid surging COVID infections, the pace of declines slowed while business confidence rose to a 17-month high. China, the world’s largest crude oil importer, made an abrupt turn in its stringent zero-COVID policy in early December following rare public protests, leading to a surge in infections across the country.