China’s economy is picking up by  2.2%

China’s economy grew by 2.2% in the first quarter, a big improvement from a 0.6 percent increase in the previous quarter. Also, a positive economic fact was that it was the third consecutive quarterly expansion since China began to ease its COVID-19 restrictions in the second half of last year.

That said, unlike China’s massive economic growth from the mid-1990s to 2020 before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, this promotion may not translate so directly to an equally massive increase in oil prices.

It was clearly demonstrated that China’s economic expansion was strongly tied to oil prices, setting off a series of continuously increasing prices for commodities that sustained its growth during that timeframe.

One such commodity was oil, which was important in supporting the country’s largely manufacturing-driven economic growth during those years. Due to the large gap between the scale of China’s energy needs and the volume of oil and gas resources, the country has quickly become a leader in the global oil market.

By 2013, it had become the world’s biggest oil importer; by 2017, it had overtaken the US as the world’s largest annual crude oil importer. Therefore, it is unsurprising that many in the economic oil market expect great recovery figures from China’s economic progress.

Although property price inflation remains negative, prices continue to improve every month, with 64 cities now seeing monthly price increases.

The nature of the current phase of economic growth in China is unlike any market before. China’s central leadership hopes to reopen and lift the negative indicators.

The yen advanced 0.32% to $133.854 and gained 0.42% to 147.66 euros before hitting an eight-year low of 148.637.