• West Texas Intermediate held near $78 a barrel after retreating by more than 2% on Monday. China’s reopening after Covid Zero was abandoned has boosted optimism that consumption will pick up as mobility improves, and purchasing managers indexes due Tuesday will provide more evidence of how quickly Asia’s biggest economy is recovering.
• While the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates again in its first meeting of 2023 on Wednesday, a smaller hike of 25 basis points is widely expected. That, and comments from Chair Jerome Powell, may signal that central bank’s the tightening cycle is now close to complete.
• Crude has endured a bumpy ride in January, and is on course for a third consecutive monthly decline as concerns about a US slowdown overshadowed the optimism on China.