Oil up more than 2% on slowing coronavirus cases, U.S. move on Venezuela - Reuters

Oil up more than 2% on slowing coronavirus cases, U.S. move on Venezuela - Reuters:

Oil prices gained more than 2% on Wednesday as worries eased about demand declining due to the spread of coronavirus cases in China, while supplies tightened as the United States moved to cut off more Venezuelan crude from the market.

Brent crude LCOc1 settled at $59.12 a barrel, rising $1.37, or 2.4%. U.S. oil CLc1 settled at $53.29, gaining $1.24, or 2.4%.

Official data showed new coronavirus cases in China fell for a second day, although the World Health Organization said there was not enough data to know if the epidemic was being contained.

Wall Street reached new highs on optimism China would stimulate its economy and counteract the impact of the outbreak.[.N]

“It seems like the oil market is trying to catch up with the stock market and put the coronavirus in the rear-view mirror or discount it mightily,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York.