Oil rises on U.S. stimulus hopes, tighter market under Biden | Reuters

Oil rises on U.S. stimulus hopes, tighter market under Biden | Reuters

Oil edged higher on Wednesday on expectations that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration will deliver hefty pandemic-related economic stimulus that will lift fuel demand and enact policies that will tighten crude supply.

Biden, who was inaugurated on Wednesday, immediately was set to take measures to curb the U.S. oil industry, including a plant to re-enter the Paris climate accord, cancelling a permit for the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline and pausing planned drilling in the Arctic.

Brent crude settled at $56.08 a barrel, gaining 18 cents. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at $53.24 a barrel, climbing 26 cents.

U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen on Tuesday urged lawmakers to “act big” on pandemic relief spending, which boosted oil prices.

“There’s renewed hopes about the stimulus - there’s just a good mood in the markets overall, a sense of moving forward and that demand is going to be picking up,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.