Oil rises after 4 consecutive days of decline

Oil prices rose today, Dec. 8, after four consecutive days of decline, while investors evaluated China's measures to ease restrictions related to COVID-19 and their impact on the market.

Brent crude rose 0.45% to $77.53 a barrel, at 9:11 am Makkah time. The benchmark grade slumped 2.7% in the previous session.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 0.61% to $72.45 a barrel.

The easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China – one of the largest consumers of crude oil in the world – helped stabilize oil prices, amid higher demand expectations.

Prices also found support in data released today in Japan, which showed that the country’s economy contracted less than expected during the third quarter of the year.

The Joe Biden Administration, meanwhile, is still weighing the impact of China’s reopening and the price cap on Russian supplies before moving to start replenishing depleted strategic petroleum reserves, Bloomberg reported, citing Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s Senior Energy Security Adviser.