NEW YORK- Oil settled higher, supported by bullish economic data from US and Europe, though a rise in coronavirus cases in India was still pressuring prices.
Brent crude settled up 77 cents, 1.1 percent, to $66.11 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US crude gained 71 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $62.14 a barrel.
For the week, both benchmark crudes fell about 1 percent due to the resurgence of infections in India and Japan, the world’s third and fourth largest oil importers.
“This price consolidation follows a strong four-month price advance that was largely predicated on US vaccine progress that forced some upward revisions in global demand ideas across this year,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Illinois.
Euro zone Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for April showed a stronger-than-expected recovery and more European states began easing coronavirus lockdowns. France said schools would reopen on Monday.
US data added to the upbeat outlook; the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a 13-month low last week.
“The PMIs across Europe were really off the charts, especially following the strong unemployment report in the US,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.
US refiner Valero said demand for gasoline and diesel were at 93 percent and 100 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
International oil activity should ramp up through the end of this year and beyond, Schlumberger NV top boss Olivier Le Peuch said. 1US
