Investing.com–Oil prices edged higher Friday, helped by better than expected Chinese economic activity, but were on course for a weekly decline as President Donald Trump called for lower crude prices and US higher energy production.
At 08:35 ET (13:35 GMT), expiring in March rose 0.5% to $78.70 a barrel, while gained 0.4% to $74.95 a barrel.Â
Both contracts were trading around 3% lower this week – their worst performance since November.Â
PMI data, Fed in focusÂ
Oil markets were helped Friday after data showed that China’s services sector expanded in December at the fastest pace in seven months supported by higher domestic demand.
The came in at 52.2 in December, compared to expectations for a print of 51.4. The reading was higher than the 51.5 seen in November, and above the 50 level pointing to expansion.
China is the world’s largest importer of crude, and traders are looking for signs that momentum in the Chinese economy…
