FX.co ★ Oil Futures Settle Sharply Higher

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday, supported by a weak dollar, and reports about China cutting quarantine restrictions for inbound travelers and flights.

The dollar extended its weakness due to the smaller than expected increas in U.S. consumer prices raising hopes the Fed will be less aggressive with interest rate hikes in the coming months.

The dollar index dropped to 106.28 today, losing about 1.79%.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended higher by $2.49 or about 2.9% at $88.96 a barrel.

Despite posting strong back-to-back gains, WTI crude futures shed nearly 4% in the week.

Brent crude futures were up $2.39 or 2.55% at $96.06 a barrel a little while ago.

China cut quarantine restrictions for inbound travelers and flights, boosting hopes for a revival in fuel demand. Authorities also removed a penalty for airlines for bringing in too many cases.

The loosening of curbs came, a day after President Xi Jinping led his new Politburo Standing Committee in a meeting on COVID.

A report released by Baker Hughes this afternoon showed the oil and gas rig count in the U.S. rose by nine to 779 this week, the highest level since March 2020.

Oil rigs increased by nine to 622, while gas rigs stood at 155.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has lowered its forecast for next year's crude output growth by 21%.