Oil prices rise amid optimism about global economic growth prospects for 2025.

Crude oil prices witnessed a noticeable increase today, Friday, driven by optimism in the markets regarding global economic growth this year, which enhances expectations for an increase in crude oil demand in the near future.

Crude Oil Price Performance Today:

In global markets, U.S. crude oil contracts rose by 0.90% to record $73.72 a barrel, while Brent crude contracts increased by 0.58% to reach $76.31 a barrel. These gains reflect optimism for a rebound in global oil demand in the upcoming period.

Supporting Factors for Rising Crude Oil Prices

Crude oil prices have benefited from optimism regarding Chinese demand in the near future, especially after the National Development and Reform Commission of China - the government planning agency - stated that it is fully confident in achieving continuous economic recovery by 2025.

Additionally, the commission's statement indicated that the Chinese government would take the economic growth target for 2025 into account to consider both needs and potentials, as well as medium- and long-term plans.

Moreover, oil prices were supported by reports indicating an expected tightening in oil supply, especially following reports that U.S. President Joe Biden is prepared to issue a decree that would permanently ban any new oil and gas exploration activities in certain offshore areas.

Sources mentioned that Biden intends to issue this decree in the coming days, which will prohibit the sale of drilling and exploration rights in certain areas of the U.S. outer continental shelf, and these developments have positively impacted crude oil prices.

Performance of Other Energy Contracts

Regarding other energy contracts, heating oil contracts rose by 0.45% to reach $2.3438 per gallon. On the other hand, gasoline contracts fell by 0.67%, recording $2.0575 per gallon. As for natural gas contracts, they significantly dropped by 8.58% to record $3.342 per million British thermal units.

These movements in the energy market come amid a mix of optimism regarding global demand and concerns related to supply, keeping the markets under observation to discern developments in the global economic and oil landscape.

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