Crude oil prices surged close to 4 percent on Friday amidst hopes of a shift in China's Zero Covid strategy and other Covid curbs. Aiding the rally were fears of a ban by the E.U. on Russian oil. Both Brent and WTI traded significantly higher compared to the levels on Thursday backed by hopes of a major upturn in demand.
The rally is also amidst data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that showed a nonfarm payroll employment increase of 261 thousand versus expectations of 200 thousand. Unemployment rate increased to 3.7 percent versus expectation of 3.6 percent. The labor market's strength serves as a strong nod to the central bank to pursue the hawkish path it enumerated just two days earlier.
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