Oil prices score biggest daily gain since March on ‘fire sale’ buying spree
Oil futures rose on Monday, scoring their biggest daily percentage gain since March after ending last week at the lowest price in three months on worries the continued spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 would dent demand for crude.
West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery rose $3.50, or 5.6%, to settle at $65.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
WTI dropped 8.9% last week, taking the U.S. benchmark to a three-month low.
October Brent crude the global benchmark, climbed $3.57, or 5.5%, to $68.75 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, after also falling to its lowest since May last week.
Both benchmarks snapped seven-day losing streaks to log their biggest daily percentage gains since March 24, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Concerns around the rapidly spreading delta variant have forced demand expectations lower through the remainder of the year, said Robbie Fraser, global research and analytics manager at Schneider Electric.
The move up for oil came despite Monday’s announcement by the U.S. Energy Department that it plans to sell up to 20 million barrels of crude oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Contracts will be awarded no later than Sept. 13 with delivery to take place between Oct. 1 and Dec. 15, the Energy Department said.
Reference: Market Watch
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