On Thursday, crude oil prices showed signs of recovery accompanied by a rise in futures by about 10% over the course of today’s trading, especially after the issuance of several positive economic data in China and the presence of an initial demand for oil with expectations for the return of work in a number of countries during the second half of May Next.
The numbers of people infected with the Corona virus continue to rise, as the number of people infected with the Corona virus increased during the beginning of Thursday, estimated at 4,208 new cases, pushing the total to 3,222,392 cases, in addition to 240 deaths and a total death rate of 228,270. While cases of complete recovery from the virus exceeded one million cases and recorded 1,005,446 cases globally at the beginning of the day.
But despite that, prices were supported by China data, which revealed that the indicators of manufacturing and non-manufacturing purchasing managers have stabilized the highest 50 points for the second month in a row, which indicates that the two sectors continue to improve with the return of life in China again.
The remarks of the US President also had a positive impact, as Donald Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with the trade agreement with China because of the spread of the Corona virus, which affected this, indicating that China will do everything possible to achieve my defeat in the 2020 presidential elections. The election should turn into a referendum on its handling of the Coronavirus.
Asian stocks also recorded notable gains, as the Hang Seng index rose by 0.28% and closed at 24,643.59, the Shanghai Composite Index rose by 1.35%, and the Australian ASX 200 Index rose by 2.39% to 5,522.40 level. Korean shares also rose 0.70% at 1,947.56.
During the last hours, US crude futures rose by 14.41% to the levels of $ 17.21 a barrel, and Brent crude futures increased by 8% at the levels of $ 26.18.
Among other energy prices, natural gas contracts recorded a decline of about 1.07% to reach levels of $ 1.849 per million thermal units, on the other hand, heating oil contracts recorded an increase of 7.49% at levels of $ 0.8350 a gallon. Gasoline contracts also rose by 3.27% to record $ 0.7792 a gallon.