• West Texas Intermediate traded near $78 a barrel after climbing almost 3% over the previous two sessions. Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth said rising Chinese demand may aid prices. Amin Nasser, Wirth’s counterpart at Saudi Aramco, said consumption there was “very strong.”
• Crude shipments from the US, meanwhile, rose to a record last week, suggesting buoyant overseas demand, according to official figures released Wednesday. The increase in flows helped to reduce the expansion in nationwide stockpiles, which grew by a less-than-expected 1.2 million barrels.
• Oil has softened slightly this year on a challenging global macroeconomic outlook, with the Federal Reserve signaling that it’ll need to push rates higher to rein in inflation. That’s overshadowing signs that Chinese demand will recover after the biggest oil importer abandoned Covid Zero late last year.