LONDON—Oil prices jumped by about 3 percent on Friday after health authorities in China, the top global crude importer, eased some of the country’s heavy COVID-19 curbs.
Brent crude futures rose $2.86, or 3.1 percent, to $96.53 a barrel by 1145 GMT, extending a 1.1 percent rise in the previous session.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $2.87, or 3.3 percent, to $89.34 a barrel, after climbing 0.8 percent in the previous session.
The easing curbs include shortening quarantine times for close contacts of cases and inbound travelers by two days, as well as eliminating a penalty on airlines for bringing in infected passengers.
Prices also picked up on Friday after milder-than-expected U.S. inflation data reinforced hopes that the Federal Reserve would slow down rate increases, boosting chances of a soft landing for the world’s biggest economy….