Investing.com–Oil prices slipped slightly lower Friday, but were still heading for a second consecutive weekly gain as optimism around China’s economic growth lifted market sentiment.

At 08:00 ET (13:00 GMT), fell 0.1% to $73.08 a barrel, and  expiring in February slipped 0.1% to $75.84 a barrel.

Oil had gained sharply in the previous session after data showed growth in Chinese factory activity.

Both contracts were on course for second consecutive weekly gains, with WTI headed for a 3.5% jump and set to rise nearly 3% for the week.

Chinese stimulus hopes support oil prices

China’s  grew in December, a Caixin/S&P Global survey showed on Thursday, but at a slower pace than expected.

An official survey released on Tuesday also showed that China’s manufacturing activity barely grew in December. However, services and construction fared better, with the data suggesting that policy stimulus is trickling into some sectors.

Beijing has signaled looser monetary policy for 2025 and has doled out a raft of major stimulus measures since late September, in order to boost its sluggish economy.

China’s central bank has indicated that it plans to lower interest rates from the current 1.5% “at an appropriate time” in 2025, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Traders assess EIA data amid oversupply concerns

{{8849|US crude oil inventories declined, while gasoline and distillate stocks saw significant increases as demand softened during the week ending December 27, the reported on Thursday.

The EIA stated that dropped by 1.2 million barrels last week, falling short of analysts’ expectations for a 2.8 million-barrel decrease.

Latest EIA surveys have shown that U.S. oil production remains near record levels, and the incoming Donald Trump administration is likely to agree to policies that would focus on ramping up domestic fossil fuel production.

This comes amid worries about potential oversupply driven by anticipated production increases from non-OPEC nations, further underscoring an oversupply scenario.

The International Energy Agency recently said that the oil market will remain adequately supplied, despite a rise in demand forecast for 2025.

(Peter Nurse contributed to this article.)