Oil prices rose today after Fed Chair Jerome Powell eased market concerns over future interest rate hikes. He did however indicate that the bank has some way to go on raising rates and that January’s jobs numbers show “why this will be a process that takes a significant period of time”. Saudi Arabia shocked markets raising its price for Asian buyers for the first time in six months amid expectations of a demand recovery, especially from China. “That seemed to send home the message that the China reopening is real, and if Saudi Arabia is not afraid to raise prices on oil then that means demand is pretty good,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group. WTI traded up 3.03 or 4.1% to close at $77.14. Brent traded up $2.70 or 3.3% to close at $83.69.