As reports come in of US oil stockpiles growing, and hopes for a robust Chinese recovery wane, oil appeared to be on its way to its second weekly loss.

West Texas Intermediate dropped toward $75 per barrel, which would put it on course for a 5% loss for the week. As questions keep building over the timing and extent of China’s reopening, the trade for commodities typically consumed by the world’s second largest economy has waned. Meanwhile in the US, midweek data showed that nationwide holdings grew for the sixth straight week.

Crude has rebounded back and forth within a $10 range so far this year, as concerns of a global slowdown have pushed prices down, only to see optimism over China’s reopening after abandoning its stringent zero-Covid rules push them up.

Central banks in both the United States and Europe raised interest rates this week, warning they were not ready to abandon their policies of fiscal tightening just yet, as inflation continues to remain elevated.

Also affecting prices are the next rounds of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector, which go into effect this weekend. The European Union is poised to extend a price cap mechanism similar to that already imposed on Russian seaborne crude, to all Russian petroleum products. It is hoped the mechanism will reduce Russia’s energy profits amid the war in Ukraine without completely removing Russian energy products from the market and triggering an energy crisis.

Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights, said that oil is in, “limbo as the market awaits tangible signs of China’s oil demand recovery. The EU products ban is not seen as a major factor but it still comes with a bit of uncertainty.”

Crude has also been a part of a broader decline in commodities this week as other leading industrial commodities like copper and iron also declined.

RBC Capital Markets LLC has noted the big factor in the “sloppy” oil market is the uncertainty over the details of China’s reopening. In a note from the capital management firm, it said the largest crude importer in the world, “needs to pull harder in order for the physical messiness to clean up.”

Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING Groep NV said, “Large US inventory builds this week have weighed on the market, while there is still little clarity on how strong a demand recovery we could see from China. However, we still hold onto our constructive medium-term outlook for the market with the expectation of a tightening in the oil balance.”