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NEW YORK:Oil climbed on Thursday and touched a nine-month excessive, with merchants optimistic about progress towards a U.S. fiscal stimulus deal and record-breaking refining demand in China and India.
U.S. lawmakers edged nearer to settlement on a $900 billion virus-relief spending package deal on Wednesday.
The U.S. greenback set a 2-1/2 12 months low towards main rivals on Thursday. Since crude is priced in dollars, this made oil cheaper for patrons holding different currencies.
Brent crude futures settled up 42 cents at $51.50 a barrel, and touched a session excessive of $51.90.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by 54 cents to $48.36 a barrel, with a session excessive of $48.59. Both benchmarks hit their highest since early March.
“Asia was ahead of the curve in recovery mode from the Coronavirus,” mentioned Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures in Chicago. “Looking at what we’re seeing in Asia is raising expectations that in the New Year we will see a rapid increase in crude oil demand, as the vaccine rolls out in the U.S.,” he mentioned.
The United States on Thursday expanded its marketing campaign to ship COVID-19 vaccine photographs.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels within the week to Dec. 11, the Energy Information Administration mentioned, excess of analysts’ expectations of a 1.9-million-barrel drop.
“It seems to be a much better festive season than most bullish traders could expect for. But whether oil prices can remain as high and keep these gains is still questionable amid the demand destruction lockdowns are causing,” mentioned Bjornar Tonhaugen at Rystad Energy.
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