Oil prices reportedly climbed back in early trading on Thursday. The situation is supported by the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine in the UK. Then, the approval of the soon-to-be-used vaccine in the United States was also one of the triggers.
Many parties said that those things could spur a rebound in fuel demand. It is even the largest increase in U.S. crude stockpiles in the last week. According to data, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose as much as 23 cents to $45.75 a barrel.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures rose 21 cents or about 0.4% to $49.07 a barrel. It seems that the optimism over vaccines remains in effect and continues to decline. This was conveyed by Axi chief market strategist Stephen Innes in his note some time ago.
Vaccinations in Different Countries
As it is known that some countries are now starting to open themselves up to vaccinations. Some have already started injecting it into some people. Meanwhile, there are also those who are still in the process of bringing in a vaccine to be tested again at the last stage. What about in America?
Reportedly, vaccinations in the United States could begin as soon as this weekend. An advisory panel there had met last Thursday to discuss whether to recommend it to the Food and Drug Control Board. It is especially to authorize the emergency use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Canada also approved its first COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. It said that inoculations would begin next week. Oil prices were also buoyed by concerns after two wells at a small oil field in northern Iraq were burned. The government called it a "terrorist attack.
Fortunately, production is not affected even if the combustion occurs. Although the well is small, it has raised concerns about the possibility of further disruption. That opinion was stated by an ANZ Research note. It is very reasonable indeed.
U.S. Crude Oil Stock Increase
Many analysts are surprised that such a market ignores the unexpected big increase in U.S. crude stockpiles. This is seen in government data released on Wednesday. Most of the conditions occurred due to the decline in U.S. commodity exports to the lowest level since 2018.
Crude oil inventories reportedly rose 15.2 million barrels in the week to December 4. The Energy Information Administration said the figure was indeed larger than analysts expected in a Reuter’s poll for a decline of 1.4 million barrels.
Elsewhere, gold prices fell on Thursday and near their lowest level for a week in the last session. Its appeal is influenced by overall optimism for a vaccine-driven economic rebound. Spot gold slipped as much as 0.3% to $1,833.40 an ounce.
The condition was acquired after falling as much as 2.5% on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures also reported down 0.1% to $1,837.40. Gold is likely to experience a slight correction as there is not much demand for safe havens anytime soon.
Possible Fluctuations in the Market
Nevertheless, an analyst said that there is a possibility of fluctuations in the market because the coronavirus situation in the U.S. and Europe is still quite severe. Global equities vary. They have been caught between optimism surrounding the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine.
In addition, there are also concerns about the soaring number of corona cases, especially in the United States. Investors are still awaiting further monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank (ECB). That bank is hoped to announce new stimulus on Thursday at 1245 GMT.
So far, the information can only be obtained around the details of the package. Practically speaking, whatever they do tends to be positive for gold. Trading could also be controlled by a lack of liquidity ahead of the Christmas holidays.
