Oil prices began the 2025 trading year with a rise in Asia on Thursday as market sentiment turned positive on expectations of stronger economic and oil demand growth. Oil prices have been rangebound for most of the fourth quarter amid concerns about demand in China and other major economies and expectations of an oversupply this year. For 2024, oil saw a second consecutive year of annual declines, falling by about 3% compared to the last closing price of 2023. On Thursday, the first trading day of 2025, oil was up by half a percentage in Asian…
