By Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) – Oil prices were flat on Friday and on track for a weekly rise as optimism about China’s demand recovery offset fears of a recession due to rising oil prices. crude oil inventories in the United States and monetary policy tightening in Europe.
* Brent crude oil futures were up 4 cents, or 0.05%, at $84.79 a barrel at 0936 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 2 cents, or 0.03%, to $78.18.
* Brent has gained around 1.9% this week, while WTI is heading for a 2.4% gain.
* In China, service sector activity grew in February at the fastest pace in six months as the removal of strict COVID-19 restrictions boosted demand, a private sector survey showed on Friday.
* Manufacturing activity in China also grew last month, at the fastest pace in more than a decade, bolstering expectations of a recovery in fuel demand. Chinese imports of Russian oil by sea will hit a record high this month.
* The world’s biggest oil importer is getting more ambitious with its 2023 growth target, which currently stands at 6%, sources involved in the policy talks told Reuters this week.
* Overall, the market rejected the 10th straight week of U.S. crude stockpiling as record U.S. crude exports rose less than in recent weeks.
* Russia’s plan to deepen oil export cuts in March also helped push prices higher.
* Meanwhile, analysts polled by Reuters expect the dollar to weaken over the next 12 months, which would make dollar-denominated oil cheaper for holders of other currencies.
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; additional reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan and Muyu Xu; Spanish editing by Ricardo Figueroa)