ANKARA

Oil prices increased on Friday, supported by economic recovery signals from China, the largest oil importer in the world.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $86.41 per barrel at 9.58 a.m. local time (0658GMT), up 0.29% from the closing price of $86.16 a barrel in the previous trading session.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $80.87 per barrel at the same time, a 0.32% rise after the previous session closed at $80.61 a barrel.

Economic activity is expected to recover in China, where the COVID-19 measures were lifted last month and pushed oil demand higher.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum held in Davos on Tuesday, China's Deputy Prime Minister responsible for the economy, Liu He, said life and production in the country returned to normal levels after COVID-19 measures were lifted and signaled an optimistic outlook for the Chinese economy.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) both predicted that global oil demand will reach a record level in 2023, reinforced by economic recovery in China.

Global oil demand is set to rise by 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) this year to a record 101.7 million bpd, with nearly half of the gain from China, IEA said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, US commercial crude oil inventories rose by around 8,4 million barrels to 448 million barrels, against the market expectation of a decline of around 1.75 million barrels.

A more-than-expected stockpile increase signals a drop in crude demand, capping a swift price increase.