Oil ticks up as markets weigh rate hikes, China gloom

Oil prices ticked up in Asian trade on Wednesday, as markets weighed weak demand indicators from top importer China and the prospect of further U.S. rate hikes against potential supply tightness.

Brent crude rose 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $84.16 a barrel by 0305, GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $79.82 a barrel, up 18 cents, or 0.2%.

Both benchmarks lost about 0.5% on Tuesday.

Markets await hints on the outlook for interest rates when Federal Reserve officials and policy makers from the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan head to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for an annual meeting later this week.

“Investors are reluctant to take big positions ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium as they want to find clues for the next step by the U.S. Federal Reserve,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities.

“Concerns over higher interest rates and sluggish demand in China are expected to outweigh tightening supply from OPEC+ in the short term.”

China, the world’s second-largest economy, is considered crucial to shoring up oil demand over the rest of the year. Its weak growth has frustrated markets as pledged stimulus has fallen short of expectations, including a smaller-than-expected cut in a key lending benchmark on Monday.

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