Oil prices extend gains on COVID vaccine hopes, Mideast tensions | Reuters

Oil prices extend gains on COVID vaccine hopes, Mideast tensions | Reuters

Oil prices rose 1% on Monday, extending gains as traders eyed a recovery in crude demand due to successful coronavirus vaccine trials, and concerns over tensions in the Middle East.

Sentiment was also bolstered by hopes that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other producers, a group known as OPEC+, will continue to restrain production.

Brent crude futures rose 63 cents, or 1.4%, to $45.59 a barrel by 0733 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 49 cents, or 1.2%, to $42.91 a barrel. Both benchmarks jumped 5% last week.

“Positive sentiment continues to be driven by the recent good news about the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines in development and the expectation that the OPEC+ meeting at the end of this month could see the group extend current cuts by 3-6 months,” said Stephen Innes, Chief Global Markets Strategist at axi, a financial services firm.