Oil prices rebound after nursing heavy losses

Oil prices recovered ground this morning after suffering sharp losses yesterday amid concerns surging Covid cases in China will hit global oil demand.

Global benchmarks WTI and Brent Crude added 1.31 per cent and 1.04 per cent to reach $67.35 and £69.76 respectively.

Yesterday, oil prices shed over four per cent at the height of their losses amid mounting concerns that a sharp uptick in Covid cases will prompt Chinese authorities to reinstate measure to curb infections, likely hitting demand for oil from the world’s second largest economy.

Over 900 cases of the more transmissible Delta variant of Covid have been detected in China, prompting officials to deploy widespread testing to identify positive contacts.

China has adopted a zero-tolerance policy on Covid, indicating that restrictions could be reimposed soon.

ations do not cut their green house gas emissions sharply over the coming years, climate change is likely to acclerate rapidly, increasing the likelihood of government’s exploring alternatives to oil to faciliate economic activity.