Oil prices opened lower on Monday after China set a lower-than-expected target for economic growth this year at around 5%, and as investors cautiously awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony this week.
Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday the foundation for stable growth in China needed to be consolidated,remained a pronounced problem, and the expectations of private investors and businesses were unstable.
"Economic re-opening is proceeding better than we had expected earlier – the feared 'second-wave' of COVID did not materialize and there was little sign of supply disruptions," Tao Wang, Head of China economic research at UBS Investment Bank, said in a note. At the same time, oil prices are likely to be impacted by rate hikes across the world as global central banks tighten policy over fears of increasing inflation. Traders have started factoring in rate hikes across the world, but are hoping for smaller increases than last year.
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