Crude oil prices extended their gains from the first week of the year into this week, fueled by frigid weather and hopes that the latest round of stimulus announced by the Chinese government would do the trick and revive past rates of oil demand growth. Brent crude was trading at $76.30 per barrel at the time of writing, and West Texas Intermediate was changing hands for $73.77 per barrel, both making solid gains over the past week. The latest stimulus update from Beijing came last Friday, when the government said it would boost the issuance of…
