Oil rises on U.S. vaccine rollout, Middle East tension | Reuters

Oil rises on U.S. vaccine rollout, Middle East tension | Reuters

Oil prices rose on Monday on optimism over the pace of coronavirus vaccinations in the United States and after the Yemen-based Houthi movement said it fired missiles on Saudi oil sites.

Still, crude prices have remained rangebound in the past three weeks, as growing expectations of surging U.S. economic activity are balanced by the slow rate of vaccination in Europe and anticipation of additional supply from Iran in coming months.

Brent rose 33 cents to settle at $63.28 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 38 cents to settle at $59.70 a barrel.

The United States has fully vaccinated 22% of its population, while the United Kingdom has vaccinated 11% fully, according to the Reuters vaccine tracker here. Still, other countries are not faring as well, with France and Germany at around 6% vaccinated.

“Oil prices rose today as a result of progress in vaccination campaigns in the U.S., which are helping the country’s plan to spend,” said Louise Dickson, Rystad Energy’s oil markets analyst.