Oil closes at highest level since March on vaccine trials, Biden transition | Reuters

Oil closes at highest level since March on vaccine trials, Biden transition | Reuters

Oil rose about 4% on Tuesday to touch highs not seen since March as a third promising coronavirus vaccine raised hope for fuel- demand recovery and U.S. President-elect Joseph Biden began his transition to the White House.

Brent crude settled at $47.86 a barrel, gaining $1.80, or 3.9%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $44.91 a barrel, rising $1.85, or 4.3%.

Both benchmarks ended at their highest close since March 6.

AstraZeneca on Monday said that its COVID-19 vaccine was 70% effective in trials and could be up to 90% effective, giving the fight against the pandemic another potential vaccine after positive results from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

However, the vaccine will not be readily available for several months, meaning people will likely restrict travel and other activities through next year to try to slow the spread of the disease.