HOUSTON: Oil hit a three-week high on Tuesday as China’s latest easing of Covid-19 restrictions spurred hopes of a demand recovery, and as production in the United States was hit by winter storms.

Brent crude was up $1.52, or 1.8 per cent, at $85.44 a barrel by 1630 GMT (930pm in Pakistan) and US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.37 to $80.93 per barrel, a 1.7pc gain.

Both benchmarks hit their highest level since Dec 5 earlier in the session. UK and US markets had been closed on Monday for the Christmas holiday.

China will stop requiring inbound travellers to go into quarantine, starting from Jan 8, the National Health Com­mission said on Monday in a major step toward easing curbs on borders that have been largely shut since 2020.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2022