By Sonali Paul
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Oil prices made modest gains in early trade on Friday but were heading for a second straight week of losses, as the market looked for more signs of a strong recovery in fuel demand in China to offset looming slumps in other major economies.
Brent crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $82.33 a barrel at 0110 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $76.06 a barrel.
So far this week, Brent has dropped by 4.8%, extending a 1.1% loss from the previous week. WTI has fallen by 4.5% after sliding 2% in the prior week.
Mixed signs of a fuel demand recovery in China, the world’s top oil importer, have kept a lid on the market.
ANZ analysts pointed to a sharp jump in traffic in China’s 15 largest cities following the Lunar New Year holiday, but also noted that Chinese traders had been “relatively absent” from markets.
The…
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