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Oil futures rose Thursday, lifted by signs of progress toward another round of economic relief by U.S. lawmakers a day after data showed a fall in crude inventories.
West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery CL.1, +0.50% CLF21, +0.50% rose 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $47.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after trading as high as $48.59 — the highest level for a most actively traded contract since early March, according to FactSet.
February Brent crude BRN00, +0.41% BRNG21, +0.41%, the global benchmark, was up 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $51.15 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, after trading at its highest since March 5.
“Sentiment has shrugged off slightly bearish monthly updates from OPEC, the EIA, and the IEA this week,” said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at Axi, in a note.
“While all-clear signals point to gradual demand recovery throughout 2021, however, I worry about the red lockdown flags on the ground, whether too much vaccine optimism is in the price, and if stretched longs can weather any near-term headwinds,” he said.
Crude was lifted Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude inventories fell by a larger-than-expected 3.1 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 11.
Meanwhile, Washington lawmakers were seen making progress toward a $900 billion package of economic relief.
The U.S. reported a record 247,000 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. There were 113,090 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals on Wednesday, according to the COVID Tracking Project, up from 112,816 on Tuesday, as hospitalizations reached a record for an 11th-straight day.
An advisory panel was widely expected on Thursday to recommend the Food and Drug Administration authorize a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. MRNA, -6.92%. If the FDA does so, it would be the second vaccine authorized by the FDA, joining the drug developed by Pfizer Inc. PFE, -2.25% and BioNTech SE BNTX, -4.87%, which saw rollout begin this week.
