Oil prices inch up as recession fears begin to fade
Oil prices rose slightly in early Asian trade on Monday as fears of a recession in the U.S. began to recede.
The oil prices in the early Asian trading on Monday rose slightly as fears about a U.S. recession, which had driven prices down for three weeks in a row for the first since November, began fading.
Brent dropped 5.3% and WTI fell 7.1% last week, despite the sharp recovery on Friday that saw both benchmarks rise about 4%.
Prices have been stabilized by a positive U.S. jobs data for April, a weaker currency, and the expectation of supply reductions at the next meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies in June.
Tina Teng is an analyst with CMC Markets. She said, "Oil's recovery follows the energy stocks' rebound on Wall Street last week after the U.S. released strong job data that eased fears of an imminent recession, which led to the early-week selloff."
The United States will report its consumer price index for April on March 31. This could give us more clues about interest rates, as there are expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may pause their rate hikes.
Two reports will also be closely monitored, as usual, due to the recent stress on the regional banking system.
This week, traders will be closely watching Chinese economic indicators, including the trade, inflation and lending figures for April. Market participants are continuing to gauge economic recovery in this world's largest oil consumer.