Oil steady as economic worries offset possible China demand rise

Oil steady as economic worries offset possible China demand rise

WTI futures for July, which will soon be the front-month, were down about 0.6% to $109.20 a barrel.

That put WTI on track to rise for a fourth week in a row for the first time since mid-February. Brent was up less than 1% after falling less than 1% last week.

Crude gains have been limited this week, with the Brent and U.S. benchmarks mostly trading in a range due to the uncertain path of demand. Investors, worried about rising inflation and more aggressive action from central banks, have been reducing exposure to riskier assets.

Open interest in WTI futures, for example, fell to 1.722 million contracts on May 18, the lowest since July 2016.

"If U.S. growth data continues to sour, oil prices could get caught up in the negative stock market feedback loop," SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said in a client note.

Wall Street ended lower after a volatile session on Thursday, while investors fretted about inflation and rising interest rates.

In China, however, oil demand could rebound as Shanghai authorities lifted some coronavirus lockdowns and residents were given the freedom to go out to shop for groceries for the first time in nearly two months. China is the world's top