Oil quotes continue to rise on Wednesday morning after jumping more than 3% a day earlier. The current quotation of Brent crude oil is $75.09 per barrel. North American WTI oil is trading near $70 per barrel. The rise in oil prices was facilitated by the reduction of the key interest rate by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), as well as news about the planned stimulus measures that Beijing is preparing to support economic activity in the country. Analysts note that the steps taken by China to introduce new incentives are supporting the oil market. The reduction of the key interest rate by the Chinese central bank gives hope that the policy of easing can lead to stronger economic growth this year. Yesterday, the PBOC lowered the rate on seven-day reverse repo operations from 2% to 1.9%. Additional support to the oil market was provided by the announcement of the intention of the US authorities to replenish the strategic oil reserve by 12 million barrels this year. Today, on Wednesday, all the attention of traders is focused on the meeting of the US Federal Reserve System. Investors hope that a significant reduction in inflation will allow the Fed to suspend the cycle of raising interest rates and keep the base rate unchanged (5-5.25%) at the meeting on June 13-14.
