Saturday 17 April 2021

Oil Price: the weekly price is up with strong Chinese and US economic data

 

Weekly oil price April

Oil price recorded a rise this week, having been on a downward trend for weeks.

The main pushing factor has been China’s impressive economic growth, coupled with its ability to control the pandemic, despite being the epicentre of the catastrophe, last year.

All indications are that it’s full steam ahead; the Chinese refineries are back in business with heightened activity while the regular maintenance phase is slowly coming to an end.

The other encouraging factor has been the strong US economic data; the significance drop in US crude oil inventories in the past week and the accelerated vaccine rollout are nurturing the positive sentiment in the markets.

In Asia and Europe, however, there are still serious concerns about the resurgence of the number of infections; the slow pace of vaccine rollout does not help calm the nerves of the investors.

In India, for example, the situation is painting a grim picture: the major cities are staring into an abyss of lockdowns; the demand of crude oil has clearly dropped during the first two weeks of April; vaccine rollout has slowed down due to logistical issues – and shortages.

The development is going to affect the economic growth very badly; the manufacturing and agricultural sectors are going to bear the brunt of the impact.

When the economy showed signs of improvement, people preferred private vehicles to public transport – for obvious reasons; the increased consumption of petrol reflected the trend; with the rapid rise in infections, people will choose to stay indoors rather than venturing out; the activities at the pumps are already dwindling.

In light of these developments, in India in particular and in Asia in general, the only thing that the people in the region can do is hoping against hope that the resurgence of the pandemic will die down, following the exact set of events during the first wave.