Crude steady as rising European COVID-19 cases offset U.S. oil stock draw | Reuters

Crude steady as rising European COVID-19 cases offset U.S. oil stock draw | Reuters:

Oil prices were steady on Thursday as a new wave of coronavirus cases in Europe led several countries to reimpose travel restrictions, offsetting a bullish drop in U.S. crude and fuel inventories.

Brent futures LCOc1 settled 17 cents, or 0.4%, higher at $41.94 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 gained 38 cents, or 1.0%, to end at $40.31.

That cut Brent's premium over WTI WTCLc1-LCOc1 to its smallest closing level since late May when WTI settled higher than Brent on one day.

“Oil prices (are) stable for now but downside pressure remains ... due to rising COVID numbers across Europe,” said Craig Erlam, senior analysts at OANDA.