During the early Asian session, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures at NYNEX rose as much as 1.5% to $68.19 per barrel, and the Brent futures at ICE jumped 1.42% to $71.58 per barrel before pulling back.
The natural gas futures price also climbed nearly 1% to $4.14 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) during the same time frame, according to Euronews.
Additionally, China announced a special plan to boost domestic consumption, alongside a slew of positive economic data, adding to the demand optimism. China’s retail sales rose 4% in the first two months of this year, accelerating from a 3.7% increase in December.
MA/PR