China’s reopening is a bigger driver for oil prices than cap on Russian crude, says Singapore official

China’s reopening will be a bigger driver for oil prices that the cap on Russian oil, Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan told CNBC on Tuesday.

“I would expect to see a significant opening,” Balakrishnan said. “Now that has profound implications for the global economy, more so than an oil price cap.”

China’s medium to long-term playbook should hence focus on improving vaccination rates, Balakrishnan said.

“You can open up if you’ve got high vaccination rates. So I’d be watching to see what efforts China makes to ramp up vaccination in the seniors,” he added.