Oil prices rose today, reversing overnight losses as better-than-expected US manufacturing activity data spurred hope for a post-pandemic economic recovery, and as analysts forecast a sixth weekly drawdown in US crude inventories.
"Everyone is looking for a draw, of one degree or another, in the API this afternoon," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York."The manufacturing numbers and the bullishness around the AstraZeneca virus vaccine added to the optimism," he said. AstraZeneca has expanded its previous agreement with Oxford Biomedica to mass-produce the British drugmaker's Covid-19 vaccine candidate, as it looks to scale-up supply ahead of a possible fast-track approval from the United States.