Oil prices remained virtually unchanged on Friday. This is prompting market participants to weigh concerns about high inflation and optimism about the possibility of increased energy demand in China.

American West Texas Intermediate futures rose 7 cents to $84.58 per barrel while Brent crude fell 5 cents per barrel Change to $92.33 per barrel at 00:02 GMT. WTI was expected to fall by 1.3% while Brent was on track to make a weekly gain of 0.7%.

Patrick Harker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, said on Thursday 20 that in order to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve American is trying to slow the economy and will continue to raise its target rate in the short term. The quarantine period will be reduced for visitors from 10 to 7 days. China has kept to strict COVID-19 restrictions this year. This has weighed heavily on business and economic activity, and reduced fuel demand. It should be remembered that China is the world's largest importer of crude oil. A reduction of 2 million barrels in production has been agreed by OPEC+.