Oil price finds asylum from the optimistic vaccine news released by Pfizer and partner BioNTech earlier.
The pharmaceutical company says that their inoculation is now 95% effective, a tad bit higher than Moderna’s mNRA’s 94.5% efficacy.
The shot is expected to secure regulatory approval from US and European boards by mid-December. If so, then it may be ready for distribution before Christmas.
The news instantaneously stirred investor optimism, thus providing a cushion on sectors that are hardly-hit by the pandemic.
Traders are looking forward to a post-Covid 19 environment where there is a sharp rebound in crude oil demand worldwide.
According to an expert in the field, short term projections for energy commodities are currently on the bullish side.
Crude futures in the New York Mercantile Exchange edged up to 2.5% at one point of the trading session.
However, the rally quickly reverted to losses as the business district announced to give up face-to-face schooling amid a rising number of daily infections.
Also, providing a breather for the crude is robust demand from China.
In the past months, Chinese refiners imported record-high amounts of key crude grades as they take advantage of the low price margin amid flimsy demand and oversupply.
Similarly, the government ramps up its commercial oil inventories thus increasing their reserves while the oil price is still cheap.
The country’s exports should reach 12 million barrels per day by 2021.
The party announced their move to increase storage capacities and quotas to accommodate greater fluctuation of oil supply into their borders.
With this, the industry will expect more order requests from independent Chinese oil refiners now that the new import quota takes place.
Hopes Over OPEC+’s Extension on Supply Curb
All unfolding events are currently playing at the advantage of crude.
According to the latest developments, the market is optimistic that the OPEC+ members will decide on extending their production cuts to provide a cushion to the flagging industry.
With this, Brent crude instantaneously jumped by 1.6%, adding 76 cents. It currently trades at $44.45 per barrel.
Similarly, West Texas Intermediate hit an 11-week high after notching a 39-cent increase.
The US benchmark settled above the psychological support of $40 per barrel after steadying at $41.82 per barrel.
The recent report released by the Energy Information Administration showing a lesser-than-expected inventory also stirred excitement among spectators.
For the week ending November 13, the agency reported 768,000 barrels in stockpile compared to the forecasted 1.6 million barrels.
