NEW YORK- Oil prices rose, reversing some of the previous day’s sharp losses as stock markets strengthened and the US dollar slipped, though gains were capped by the coronavirus situation in major oil consumer India.
Colonial Pipeline said late on Thursday it had restarted its entire pipeline system and had begun deliveries in all its markets. The line is the major conduit from Gulf refineries to the US East Coast.
“Oil is rallying because supply is moving again, whether it is through the pipeline or the Mississippi river,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.
“Tempering the excitement is ongoing concern about COVID cases in India.”
The US capital was running out of gasoline on Friday despite the pipeline restart.
Gas station outages in Washington, D.C., climbed to 87 percent, from 79 percent the day before, tracking firm GasBuddy said.
Brent crude oil futures were up $1.54, or 2.3 percent, at $68.60 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up $1.45, or 2.3 percent, at $65.27.
The two contracts lost about 3 percent on Thursday.
