Oil prices down as top crude importer China widens Covid-19 curbs

Oil prices fell on Friday after top crude importer China widened its Covid-19 curbs, though benchmarks were poised for a weekly gain on supply concerns and surprisingly positive economic data. Brent crude futures dropped 87 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $96.09 a barrel by 1309 GMT, having climbed by 1.3 per cent in the previous session. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $1.02, or 1.2 per cent, at $88.06. 

Both benchmarks, however, were on course for a weekly rise of about 3 per cent.

Friday’s declines came after Chinese cities ramped up Covid-19 curbs on Thursday, sealing up buildings and locking down districts in a scramble to halt widening outbreaks. China registered 1,506 new  infections on October 27, the National Health Commission said on Friday, up from 1,264 new cases a day earlier.

The International Monetary Fund expects China’s growth to slow to 3.2 per cent this year, a downgrade of 1.2 points from its April projection, after an 8.1 per cent rise in 2021.