Prices for petroleum gained more ground on Wednesday as a U.S. coronavirus fiscal aid package and a decline in crude oil inventories lifted prices.
Brent crude futures rose 14 cents, or 0.27%, to $51.23 U.S. a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose four cents, or 0.08%, to $48.04 U.S.
The greenback fell to its lowest in more than two years against the euro as currency traders looked past a new delay in U.S. stimulus checks and maintained bets that additional financial aid was still likely.
The Democrat-led U.S. House of Representatives voted to meet President Donald Trump’s demand to increase direct COVID-19 aid payments to Americans hurting from the pandemic to $2,000.
Oil prices could gain strength as vaccination programs around the world begin next year, allowing countries to relax restrictions on movement and business activity.
Dealers said U.S. physical crude oil grades strengthened on Tuesday as the American Petroleum Institute reported a decline in stockpiles.
Crude oil stocks fell by 4.8 million barrels last week to about 492.9 million barrels, exceeding analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a draw of 2.6 million barrels, data from API showed.
In the short-term, concerns over coronavirus lockdowns are likely to cap gains.
Related Stories
