Oil prices fall more than 8 so far this week
Fed raises rates, opens door to pause in tightening cycle
ECB set to raise interest rates for 7th time in inflation fight

May 4 Reuters Oil prices rose on Thursday but were unable to claw back much of this week39;s more than 8 decline as demand concerns in major consuming countries continued to weigh.

Brent futures were up 73 cents, or 1.01, to 73.06 a barrel by 0957 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate WTI crude rose 49 cents, or 0.71, to 69.09, after falling earlier in the session to 63.64, the lowest since Dec. 2, 2021.

Prices have plunged this week on concerns about the U.S. economy and signs of weak manufacturing growth in the world39;s largest oil importer China, sliding further after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday. That capped nearterm economic growth prospects.

However the market has seen some support from the Fed39;s signal that it may pause further interest rate increases to give officials time to assess the fallout from recent bank failures and to gain clarity on the dispute over raising the U.S. debt ceiling.

With the Fed possibly pausing, the debt ceiling hopefully resolved this month, the OPEC cut felt in a few weeks39; time and global demand picking up in the second half of the year, we are growing in conviction that the question is not how low oil prices will fall, but how long, oil broker PVM39;s Tamas Varga said.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPECand…