Oil rises as market shrugs off virus impact
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, recouping some of their losses in the previous session, as rising demand in Europe and the United States outweighed concerns over an increase in COVID cases in Asian countries.
Brent crude gained $1.59, or 2.3%, to settle at $70.63 per barrel and U.S. oil settled $1.81, or 2.7%, higher at $68.29 per barrel.
Both contracts dropped around 2.5% on Monday, but analysts believe the pandemic setback will not last for long.
U.S. crude, gasoline, and other product inventories are likely to have dropped last week, with gasoline stocks forecast to fall for a fourth consecutive period, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.
Crude oil inventories are expected to have fallen by about 1.1 barrels in the week to Aug. 6, according to the average estimate of six analysts polled by Reuters.
In the United States, the Senate is set to vote on the passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill later on Tuesday, which if passed would boost the economy and demand for oil products, analysts said.
Successful vaccination programmes in the West and encouraging economic data come in sharp contrast to rising infections in the East.
Economic data this week, especially the U.S. Consumer Price Index on Wednesday, will provide guidance on how hard the virus will hit global and regional oil consumption, analysts said.
Reference: CNBC
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