Brent breaks $60 a barrel on oil demand recovery hopes
The commodity climbed 1.26 percent to $60.19 a barrel -- its highest since January last year -- as asset markets rallied on the back of vaccine rollouts and slowing virus infections
AFP
Monday, 8 February 2021
Brent oil prices shot past $60 a barrel for the first time in more than a year with investors growing increasingly optimistic about demand as the global economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
The commodity climbed 1.26 percent to $60.19 a barrel -- its highest since January last year -- as asset markets rallied on the back of vaccine rollouts, slowing virus infections and hopes that President Joe Biden's huge stimulus proposal will be passed by US lawmakers.
Crude has been on the rise for weeks as Biden pushes his $1.9 trillion rescue package, which includes big cash handouts and a hike in the minimum wage.
Adding to the upbeat mood is data showing new infection rates, with last week seeing the lowest since October, while governments begin to get to grips with inoculations. Hopes for the long-term outlook overshadowed figures showing a rise in US inventories.