• WTI bounces off multi-day lows near $70.00.
• Traders remain divided between recession fears and Chinese recovery.
• Baker Hughes will publish its oil rig count later in the session.

Prices of the barrel of the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) cling to daily gains above the $71.00 mark following an earlier pullback to multi-session lows near the key $70.00 mark on Friday.

WTI looks at China, recession jitters

Crude oil prices now alternate gains with losses above the $71.00 mark and remain on track to close the first week with gains after three consecutive pullbacks.

In the meantime, the debate among traders remains well in place amidst the perception of an incipient US recession and dark clouds over the prospects for a Chinese recovery post-pandemic, while the still unresolved debt ceiling issue and unabated banking jitters also collaborate with the cautious scenario around the commodity for the time being.

A couple of news limiting the daily decline came from the announcement that the US government will start re-filling its SPR and the decrease to multi-month lows in Nigerian oil output during April.

Later in the NA session, Baker Hughes will publish its weekly report on the US drilling activity.