London (awp/afp) – Oil prices rose on Monday, driven by signs of recovery in the Chinese economy and pending the OPEC+ meeting, which will begin on Thursday and will determine the cartel's production strategy.
Around 10:05 a.m. GMT (11:05 a.m. CET), the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in February, which is the first day of use as a reference contract, rose 1.17% to $72.68 .
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in January, gained 1.15%, to $68.78.
The increase for the second consecutive month in manufacturing activity in China is a “timid sign of economic recovery after the announcement of a series of recovery measures at the end of September” in the country, explained Helge André Martinsen and Tobias Ingebrigtsen, analysts at DNB.
Manufacturing activity in China continued its upward trajectory in November, according to an independent index released Monday. China is the world's largest importer of oil and the price of black gold strongly depends on the economic health of the Asian giant.
The determining factor of the week remains the meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+) postponed to Thursday. The cartel must decide whether or not to extend the current production agreement, while the postponement of the meeting, first scheduled for Sunday, seems to be linked to internal differences over the strategy to adopt.
Markets expect OPEC+ to extend its current production cuts, “but if it decides to increase its supply, we could see a sharp fall in prices,” warns Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI Asset Management.
The decision will be influenced “by the upcoming presidency of Donald Trump in the United States”, estimate analysts at Energi Danmark.
The Republican, a fervent defender of fossil fuels, announced that he would put in place an accommodating policy for oil producers, but the effects of Donald Trump's second term on black gold remain difficult to read because of “potential changes profound on the geopolitical scene,” says Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM.
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