OPEC+ delegates meet next week to review crude production levels

The U.S Federal Reserve’s next decision on interest rates will be made at meetings over Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 against a backdrop of a dip to inflation and gross domestic product that grew by a faster than expected 2.9% in the fourth quarter.

“The positive batch of data gave oil prices a lift,” said PVM analyst Stephen Brennock.

Gains on U.S. crude were capped by a 4.2 million barrel build in stocks at Cushing, the pricing hub for NYMEX oil futures, this week.

“We believe soaring middle-distillate prices and cracks are mostly behind crude’s bullish price action,” JPMorgan said in a note, pointing to heavy refinery maintenance and outages, plus the European ban on Russian refined products from Feb. 5.

In China, critically ill COVID-19 cases are down 72% from a peak early this month while daily deaths among COVID-19 patients in hospitals have dropped by 79% from their peak, pointing to a normalisation of the Chinese economy and boosting expectations of a recovery in oil demand.