2024-02-01T04:56:22+00:00
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/ Global oil prices rose in early trading on Thursday, supported by signals from the Federal Reserve about a possible start to cutting interest rates and with China unveiling new support measures for the struggling real estate market.
Brent crude futures were up 46 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $81.03 a barrel by 0140 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 47 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $76.33 a barrel after falling more than $2 a barrel in the previous session.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that interest rates have peaked and will decline in the coming months as inflation continues to decline and expectations of continued job and economic growth are high.
Data showed U.S. labor costs rose less than expected in the fourth quarter and the annual increase was the smallest in two years. The data reinforced expectations that the central bank could start cutting interest rates as soon as June.
Low interest rates and economic growth support demand for oil.
Meanwhile, China, the world’s second-largest economy, unveiled new measures to support the property market. The country ended last year with the worst decline in new home prices in nearly nine years.
Concerns about attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group on shipping in the Red Sea are driving up costs and disrupting global oil trade.