Oil up on hopes of demand recovery, lower U.S. inventories | Reuters

Oil up on hopes of demand recovery, lower U.S. inventories | Reuters

Oil gained ground on Wednesday as a U.S. coronavirus fiscal aid package and a decline in crude oil inventories lifted prices.

Brent crude futures rose 35 cents, or 0.7%, to $51.44 a barrel by 0803 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude added 30 cents, or 0.6%, to $48.30 a barrel.

“Oil prices have remained supported by a weaker U.S. dollar overnight and have finally found a friend in the API inventory report,” said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi, a broker.

“This morning the American Petroleum Institute reported a much larger draw versus consensus in crude oil inventories for the week ending December 25.”