While all eyes are temporarily on the Federal Reserve’s rate hike plans and a virtual meeting of OPEC+ ministers–both on Wednesday–Chinese factory data will also weigh heavily on oil prices, and is exactly what OPEC+ will be watching. While COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on Chinese production in the wake of the removal of restrictions related to Beijing’s zero-COVID policy, Asian sources say that January’s manufacturing activity should see a decelerated slowdown, even if it will not yet hit expansion territory. According to a Reuters poll, the forecast for January factory output is a slower contraction than the ... (full story)