OPEC keeps production unchanged, also providing a lift
By Nick Godt, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures jumped Monday, tracking global market relief that China refrained from hiking interest rates.
Crude oil for January delivery lately gained 1.6% to $89.13 a barrel.
Last week, the contract fell 1.6% amid mounting concerns that China’s efforts to check inflation would slow the global economy and reduce demand for fuel.
By Friday, Beijing had lifted its reserve requirements for banks, fueling worries that it might announce a rate hike over the weekend, but that never materialized
Also helping to give a lift, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries left its production quotas unchanged.
“OPEC appears to be targeting lower inventories, and although some would like that to happen without disturbing the price, in today’s liquid market it does not have the ability to steer prices in an opposite direction to fundamentals,” J.P. Morgan’s energy team wrote in a note.
