Oil Up $1 on Tight US Supply, China Demand

Gas prices are seen at a gas station in Los Angeles on September 28, 2023. California gas prices are nearing USD $7 per gallon in some locations as oil prices surge toward $100 a barrel. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)
Gas prices are seen at a gas station in Los Angeles on September 28, 2023. California gas prices are nearing USD $7 per gallon in some locations as oil prices surge toward $100 a barrel. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)
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Oil Up $1 on Tight US Supply, China Demand

Gas prices are seen at a gas station in Los Angeles on September 28, 2023. California gas prices are nearing USD $7 per gallon in some locations as oil prices surge toward $100 a barrel. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)
Gas prices are seen at a gas station in Los Angeles on September 28, 2023. California gas prices are nearing USD $7 per gallon in some locations as oil prices surge toward $100 a barrel. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)

Oil prices rose on Friday and were headed for a gain of about 3% for the week, driven by tight US supply and expectations of strong fuel demand in China during the Golden Week holiday.

US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was up $1.31, or 1.43%, to $93.02 per barrel at 1208 GMT.

Front-month Brent November futures were up 88 cents, or 0.92%, at $96.26 per barrel ahead of the contract's expiry later in the day. The more-liquid Brent December contract was up 97 cents, or 1.04%, at $94.07 per barrel.

A backdrop of tight supplies in the US provided further price support, with storage at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for US crude futures, already at its lowest since July 2022.

"Any additional decline would threaten to bring them down to a critical level, which could make further withdrawals difficult," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

China's fuel demand was set to firm as the week-long Golden Week holiday began on Friday.

"(An) increase in international travel during the Golden Week holiday is boosting Chinese oil demand," ANZ analysts said in a client note.

Domestic travel is also expected to boost demand, with data from flight app Umetrip showing the average number of daily flights booked is a fifth higher than for Golden Week in 2019, before COVID.

Meanwhile, inflation in the euro zone fell to a two-year low of 4.3% in September, the latest Eurostat flash reading showed, suggesting the European Central Bank's policy of steady interest rate hikes was taking effect.

Russia is considering introducing fuel export quotas if the current export ban is not effective in bringing down domestic prices.

Russian gasoline and diesel exchange prices on the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) fell slightly on Friday.

Brent is forecast to average $89.85 a barrel in the fourth quarter, and $86.45 in 2024, according to a survey of 42 economists compiled by Reuters on Friday.



Syria’s President Appoints Former EY Partner as Central Bank Governor 

Shoppers walk browsing for items along the alley of Damascus' Hamidiya covered market on March 29, 2025 as Muslims prepare ahead of the holiday of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (AFP)
Shoppers walk browsing for items along the alley of Damascus' Hamidiya covered market on March 29, 2025 as Muslims prepare ahead of the holiday of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (AFP)
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Syria’s President Appoints Former EY Partner as Central Bank Governor 

Shoppers walk browsing for items along the alley of Damascus' Hamidiya covered market on March 29, 2025 as Muslims prepare ahead of the holiday of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (AFP)
Shoppers walk browsing for items along the alley of Damascus' Hamidiya covered market on March 29, 2025 as Muslims prepare ahead of the holiday of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (AFP)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa appointed Abdelkader Husrieh as the country's new central bank governor, according to a statement by the president's office, weeks after his predecessor tendered her resignation to allow for a new appointee.

Husrieh, who was previously a partner with international accounting firm EY in Syria, was sworn in by Sharaa.

Husrieh's appointment comes few weeks after Syrian central bank governor Maysaa Sabreen tendered her resignation less than three months after she was appointed to the post in a caretaker role.

Sabreen told Reuters at the time that she resigned because the country's new rulers would appoint a new governor after the formation of a new government, which was announced in late March.

She had pledged during her short-lived tenure to boost the bank's independence after years of corrupt state control.

Economists view central bank independence as critical to achieving long-term macroeconomic and financial sector stability.

While the Central Bank of Syria has always been, on paper, an independent institution, but under Bashar-al-Assad, whose regime was toppled in a lighting offensive in December, the bank's policy was de facto determined by the government.