Oil Jumps On Hopes For Easing Of China's COVID Controls

• Oil prices jumped by 3% on Tuesday, November 29 on hopes for a relaxation of China's strict COVID-19 controls after rare protests in Chinese cities over the weekend.
• Brent crude futures gained $2.50, or 3%, to $85.69 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.98, or 2.6%, to $79.22.
• Chinese health officials on Tuesday said the country plans to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations for elderly people, aiming to overcome a key stumbling block in efforts to ease unpopular "zero-COVID" curbs.
• "The prospect of a return to normality, in an economy that is the world's largest oil importer, was enough to make oil prices jump in the first significant price rebound of the last two weeks," said ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista.
• Rare street protests in cities across China over the weekend were a vote against President Xi Jinping's zero-COVID policy and the strongest public defiance of his political career, China analysts said.

(Source: Reuters)