Oil climbs on US stimulus hope
- 20 Jan 2021
Gulf Today Report
Oil prices jumped on Wednesday on high hopes for the incoming US administration going ahead with a large stimulus that will aid fuel demand and drawdown crude stocks.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 37 cents, or 0.7%, to $53.35 a barrel while Brent crude futures rose 35 cents, or 0.6%, to $56.25 a barrel.
US Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen called on lawmakers to “act big” on pandemic relief spending.
Lachlan Shaw, National Australia Bank’s head of commodity research said: "certainly the expectation is that will support better growth and better demand in the US."
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The market is still worried about oil demand due to International Energy Agency reducing its outlook for first-quarter oil demand by 580,000 barrels per day.
Germany extended its lockdown for another two weeks while China also announced stricter restrictions.
Traders will be watching out for US crude and products inventory data due from the American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday and from the Energy Information Administration on Friday.