In recent trading sessions, oil managed to consolidate above the rectangle, which was formed after the announcement of additional production cuts by OPEC+. In the coming trading sessions, the growth impulse may continue and oil could reach the level of January 2023. The fundamental news background remains positive for commodities.
OPEC raised its forecast for oil demand growth in China again.
This year, China's oil demand will average 15.6 million barrels per day. This volume is 760,000 barrels more than last year. Last month demand was expected to rise by 710,000 barrels. This data was provided by OPEC in its monthly report on the oil market.
With raising the forecast for China, OPEC kept its estimate of global oil demand growth unchanged at 2.3 million barrels per day for 2023. The alliance noted uncertainty about economic growth, which may be threatened by continued tightening of monetary policy by the Fed and other central banks.
The statistics also confirm OPEC forecasts.
China's crude oil imports rose significantly in March. The removal of anti-covid restrictions allowed the country to finish the first quarter of 2023 with strong figures.
According to customs data, China purchased 52.3 million tons of oil last month. It is the highest figure since June 2020. Total volume of imports in March was 12.37 million barrels per day. The average for the first quarter of 2023 was 11.11 million barrels per day, which is 6.7% more than the same period in 2022.
According to the technical analysis, oil prices came out of the flat and tested it from the top to the bottom. Now, there will be a new attempt to update the local highs.
The area of local highs at the beginning of this year, which corresponds to the price of $88.0, will be the growth target. Stop-loss can be set on a decrease inside the rectangle and below the last bullish candlestick. This is the level of $85.3.
Growth of Brent crude oil:
Take profit – 88.0
Stop-loss – 85.3
This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.
