Oil held its recovery from last week’s slump as traders weighed weak data in China against signs prices may have fallen too much.
Brent traded back above $70 a barrel, after creeping higher in the past few sessions from oversold territory and the lowest price since 2021. Crude is still down about 15% from its mid-January peak.
China’s consumer inflation fell more than expected and was below zero for the first time in 13 months, highlighting persistent deflationary pressures in the biggest crude importer. US equity futures struck a risk-off tone, too.
Crude has been hit by a confluence of bearish factors, including the escalating global trade war, plans by OPEC and allies to increase production, and talks to end the three-year war in Ukraine. That’s spurred speculators to cut net-bullish bets on global benchmark Brent by the most since July, although they also slashed bearish wagers against West Texas Intermediate crude.
“It seems like the crude oil market is finding some support with sellers struggling to establish momentum below $70,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank. “Overall the mood remains bearish, but considering how far we have dropped and the fact we are not that far from a negative supply reaction, it seems like we have a buy-on-dip market.”
In the US, President Donald Trump told Fox News the economy faced a “period of transition” after his actions on tariffs, while avoiding making calls for a recession. On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the rise in uncertainty, but said officials didn’t need to rush to cut rates.
