Oil prices were mostly flat for the day as bullish economic data from China was offset by interest rate hike fears. China’s economy grew at a faster-than-expected 4.5% in the first quarter while refinery throughput rose to record levels. “The big picture with China’s growth still suggests a market that is under-supplied,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group. But the prospect of another U.S. interest rate hike remained a drag on sentiment. Traders expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates by 25 basis points at its May meeting. The dollar also eased today after upbeat data from China. WTI traded up $.03 or .04% to close at $80.86. Brent traded up $.01 or .01% to close at $85.25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil prices were mostly flat for the day as bullish economic data from China was offset by interest rate hike fears.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-petroleum-daily"],"yoast_head":"\n