Oil declines as cities in China go into lockdown

Gulf Today Report 

Oil prices fell on Friday due to growing worries about Chinese cities in lockdown and US plans for the recently unveiled large stimulus package.

Brent was down 46 cents, or 0.8%, at $55.96 after recording 0.6% gains on Thursday. US West Texas Intermediate crude was 29 cents, or 0.5%, lower at $53.28 a barrel, having risen more than 1% the previous session. 

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 Financial contracts have been uplifted by strong equities and a weak dollar, it has made oil cheap.

The new COVID-19 relief package is likely to increase oil demand.

Crude imports into China rose by 7.3% in 2020 but China reported the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases in more than 10 months on Friday.