Oil is heading for weekly losses while waiting for signs of recovery in China

Oil prices made modest gains in early trading on Friday, but were set to incur losses for the second week in a row, as the market looked for more indications of a strong recovery in fuel demand in China to offset the impact of looming recession in other major economies.

By 0110 GMT, Brent crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $82.33 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $76.06 a barrel.

Since the beginning of the week, Brent crude has fallen 4.8 percent, after losing 1.1 percent in the previous week. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 4.5 percent, after falling 2 percent in the previous week.

The prospect of an economic recovery in China after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions has boosted the oil market since the beginning of the year, along with a weaker dollar that makes oil cheaper for those holding other currencies.

The dollar fell because the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) is not expected to sharply increase interest rates anymore, while other major economies continue to raise interest rates despite the decline in inflation.

While supported by a weak dollar, Oil’s gains are limited by the prospect of slowing growth in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, and stagnation in places such as Britain, Europe, Japan and Canada.