Oil rises as US vaccine progress raises demand expectations

Oil prices rose on Wednesday as signs of progress in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the United States_ the world s biggest consumer_ raised demand expectations. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 15 cents_ or 0.25 percent_ to USD 59.90 a barrel by 0757 GMT_ recovering from three days of losses.

Brent crude futures rose 24 cents_ or 0.38 percent_ to USD 62.94 a barrel after four days of losses.  Ongoing stimulus measures_ as COVID-19 vaccinations speed up_ have boosted sentiment_ ANZ analysts wrote in a note.

The US will have enough COVID-19 vaccine for every American adult by the end of May_ President Joe Biden said on Tuesday after Merck & Co agreed to make rival Johnson & Johnson s inoculation.

Futures were down earlier in the day amid uncertainty over how much supply the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies_ together called OPEC+_ will restore to the market at its Thursday meeting and a big build in US crude inventories.

The OPEC+ meeting on Thursday comes at a time when producers are generally positive on the oil market outlook compared with a year ago when they slashed supply to boost prices. The market widely expects OPEC+ to ease production cuts_ which were the deepest ever_ by about 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd)_ with OPEC s leader_ Saudi Arabia_ ending its voluntary production cut of 1 million bpd.

Still_ an OPEC+ technical committee document reviewed by Reuters called  for cautious optimism_ citing  the underlying uncertainties in the physical markets and macro sentiment_ including risks from COVID-19 mutations that are still on the rise .

Reinforcing concerns of potential oversupply_ the American Petroleum Institute industry group reported US crude stocks rose by 7.4 million barrels in the week to Feb. 26_ in stark contrast to analysts estimates for a draw of 928_000 barrels.