LONDON: Benchmark Brent oil rose to a more than two-month high above $45 a barrel on Wednesday on hopes of an effective COVID-19 vaccine and an industry report showing US crude inventories fell more than expected.
Brent was up $1.41, or 3.2 per cent, at $45.02 at 11:18 GMT, the first time it cleared the $45 threshold since early September. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also added $1.41 cents, or 3.4 per cent, to $42.77 a barrel.
“This week’s news about a coronavirus vaccine was encouraging and, alongside short-covering activity, strongly supported oil prices on Monday and Tuesday,” said Giovanni Staunovo, oil analyst for UBS.
The bank cautioned that European lockdowns and restored Libyan oil output could weigh on prices in the short term, but forecast oil at $60 a barrel by the end of 2021 based on the likelihood that producers would continue to rein in supply.
US crude stockpiles fell by 5.1 million barrels last week to about 482 million barrels, industry group data showed, compared with analysts’ expectations in a poll for a reduction of 913,000 barrels. — Reuters
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