World oil prices rose slightly on Thursday morning, Report informs.
Markets continue to evaluate the prospects for demand after statistics from China, drawing attention to data on inventories in the US.
The price of May futures for Brent crude rose by 0.15% to $84.44 per barrel, and April futures for WTI went up by 0.12% to $77.78.
On Wednesday, strong industrial data from China was published, which supported expectations on oil demand. China is one of the world's largest consumers and importers of oil.
At the same time, traders are evaluating data on the growth of stocks in the US. Commercial oil stocks in the country for the week to February 24 rose stronger than expected - by 1.2 million barrels against the forecast growth of 0.5 million. Distillate stocks rose unexpectedly, while gasoline - unexpectedly fell. Production remained at the level of the previous three weeks at 12.3 million barrels per day.
One of the risks for oil prices remains the policy of the US Federal Reserve System (Fed) on the rate. Markets expect the regulator to raise rates again in March as inflation remains high. This increases the risk of a recession, which could also hit the oil demand.