Oil price falls below $95 a barrel as China broadens COVID-19 restrictions

Oil prices fell on Friday, after world’s top crude importer, China, widened its COVID-19 restrictions.

Brent crude, global oil benchmark, fell 0.57 percent to $94.50 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 0.75 percent at $88.41.

During the week, Brent crude had peaked at $97.15 a barrel, as well as West Texas Intermediate, at $89.70 a barrel.

Friday’s decline came after Chinese cities ramped up COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday, sealing up buildings and locking down districts in an effort to stop widening outbreaks, according to Reuters. 

China’s National Health Commission, on Friday, said it registered 1,506 new COVID-19 infections on October 27 — up from 1,264 new cases in the previous day.

The Asian country is said to be the world’s largest crude importer, and as such, reduced purchases from China would drive a lower trend, pushing  down global oil prices.

“It’s hard to make a case for a rebound in China’s crude purchases given the backdrop of uncertainty over its zero-COVID policy,” said Stephen Brennock, PVM oil analyst.

In recent months, Nigeria, a major oil producer, has experienced high levels of oil theft, leading to low output.

Recently, the country discovered an illegal connection on a pipeline that had been operating for nine years.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) had said oil thieves usually turn off the automatic identification system (AIS) of vessels to avoid detection — making it difficult for authorities to combat crude oil theft.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) had said about 1.2 million barrels of oil are shut-in consistently due to crude oil theft in the country.

It added that the volume of oil lost to theft in Nigeria was about 100,000 barrels per day, translating to an estimated three million barrels every month.