WTI Reclaims $100 On Possible EU Sanctions; China Vows Quicker Action On COVID

WTI and Brent are flat to a little higher at typing, operating a shade below their respective two-week and one-week highs made on Thursday.

• To recap, major oil benchmarks caught a bid on Thursday after BBG source reports suggested that Germany plans to back a phased ban in Russian crude. Sources also pointed to a sixth EU sanctions package on Russian goods likely being put up for approval by next week, although the “precise mechanics” of an embargo on Russian oil is reportedly still in the works.
• Looking to China, fresh COVID case counts in Shanghai for Thursday surged to ~15.6K cases, reversing five consecutive days of declines after reporting ~10.7K cases for Wednesday. Authorities however pointed out on Friday that the city has continued to ease restrictions, with only around ~5mn of the city’s >25mn population currently under full lockdown. Zooming out, case counts in Beijing have also crept upwards, although overall cases in China have encouragingly remained below 20K.
• Turning to pandemic control measures, Chinese regulators on Friday re-affirmed the country’s COVID-zero strategy, but stressed that they may not reach for massed city-wide lockdowns in the future. Elsewhere, Jilin province (pop. ~24mn)in the country’s northeast reported a 7.9% Y/Y decline in GDP on Thursday, coming after the province had been put under lockdown since Mar 11.
• Up next, participants may be on the lookout for COVID-related progress in the e-commerce hub of Hangzhou (pop. ~10mn), after the city started a mass testing drive earlier in the week.