Crude Oil Higher; Covid Fears Limit Gains By Investing.com – Investing.com

Crude Oil Higher; Covid Fears Limit Gains By Investing.com – Investing.com

© Reuters.

(Updates to market settlement)

By Peter Nurse   

Investing.com -- Crude oil prices pushed higher Thursday, trading back above $70 a barrel and helped by a broader market rally which has recently outweighed concerns about the impact on energy demand from the rise in global Covid cases.

New York-traded , the benchmark for U.S. crude,  settled up $1.61, or  2.3%, at $71.91 a barrel.

London-traded , the global benchmark for oil, finished Thursday's session up $1.56, or 2.2%, at $73.79.

The crude market has been very volatile this week, plunging on Monday on worries over rising coronavirus cases and an agreement between top producers to add supply, before rebounding over the last two days. 

U.S. data from the EIA released on Wednesday showed a build of just over 2 million barrels last week to July 16, ending a run of eight weeks of declines. Normally this would be seen as bearish for the market, but the EIA data also showed a 121,00-barrel draw in , an indication that demand remains high amid the summer driving season.

Additionally, “we believe that the latest agreement between OPEC+ to increase output and extend the deal further into 2022 is supportive,