Oil steady as China revival hopes offset Russia uncertainty

Oil futures were little changed in Asia on Wednesday as hopes of improved Chinese demand offset uncertainty about how a Western cap on Russian oil prices would play out, keeping markets on edge after a sharp fall in the previous session, Reuters reported.
Brent crude futures edged up 3 cents, or 0.04%, to $79.38 a barrel by 0717 GMT, after they fell below $80 for the second time in 2022 during the previous trading session.
U.S. crude futures mostly traded sideways, and were down 9 cents or 0.12% to $74.16 a barrel.
Brent’s slump on Tuesday was the largest daily decline since late September, which have traded in a $62 range this year.
Expectations of rising China demand continued to be a positive driver, as the country posted fewer new COVID-19 infections for the second consecutive day and announced sweeping changes in its tough anti-virus policy.
A potential drawdown in U.S. crude stockpiles of around 6.4 million barrels, according to API figures, also gave some sentiment support on the supply front.
Wall Street benchmarks also tumbled on Tuesday on uncertainty around the direction of Federal Reserve rate hikes and further talk of a looming recession.
Those fears were sparked by strong economic data or hawkish signals from other policymakers.
Oil prices have dropped by more than 1% for three straight sessions, giving up most of their gains for the year.
Some optimism remained that buyers could come back if the market bottoms out amid a contango price structure, where forward prices are higher than prompt prices.