Oil prices rise on tight supply, Chinese demand

Oil prices went up in early Asian trade on Thursday, lifted by signs of tighter supply and optimism over a Chinese demand recovery.

Brent crude futures rose 5 cents, or 0.06 per cent, to $87.02 per barrel by 0115 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $80.71.

On Wednesday, the Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Chongqing announced the easing of COVID curbs, a day after demonstrators in southern Guangzhou clashed with police amid a string of protests against the world's toughest coronaviruses restrictions.

Chinese business activity shrank further in November, according to PMI data released on Wednesday, raising fears that the year is coming to an end.

The Energy Information Administration said that the U.S. crude oil stocks plunged by nearly 13 million barrels in the week ending Nov. 25, the most since 2019. The U.S. crude oil output reached 12 million barrels a day, the highest since the outbreak of the coronaviruses, the EIA said. EIA S The U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that it was time to slow the pace of interest rate hikes, which could support oil prices.

The OPEC decision to hold its Dec. 4 meeting virtually signals little likelihood of a policy change, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.