Oil prices eased, but were set for a sixth week of gains as progress towards novel coronavirus vaccination programmes fed hopes that demand for fuel would rebound next year

Brent crude oil futures’ spreads in 2021 have narrowed significantly as demand from Asia has been strong and markets remained hopeful that OPEC and its allies could extend their output cuts

The U.S. bank cut its 2021 forecast for Brent to $55 per barrel from $59.4 per barrel previously and for the WTI price to $52.8 per barrel from $55.9 previously

Oil prices rose, with Brent topping $40 a barrel, after Joe Biden clinched the US presidency and buoyed risk appetite, offsetting worries about the impact on demand from the worsening coronavirus pandemic

The bank raised its 2020 Brent and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price forecasts by $2 to $43 per barrel and $39, respectively. For 2021, the bank expects Brent and WTI prices to average $53 and $50 per barrel, respectively.

Oil futures clawed back some of the losses they sustained in the previous session, but a rebound in COVID-19 cases in some countries undermined hopes for a steady recovery in global demand

Goldman Sachs expects Brent prices to rally in 2021, bolstered by a tighter oil market and as an economic recovery from the coronavirus-induced slump gathers pace, helped by a possible vaccine

Oil prices inched lower as Hurricane Laura passed the heart of the US oil industry in Louisiana and Texas without causing any widespread damage and companies began to restart operations

Oil prices edged up after a steep drop in US crude inventories, but another record day for COVID-19 cases worldwide kept gains in check

Spanish oil and gas firm Repsol posted a quarterly net loss and wrote down $1.5 billion in assets as it revised down unusually high expectations for oil and gas prices over the next 30 years