Brent crude oil futures rose more than 1% on Friday. Oil was up just below $ 50 a barrel as the US economic stimulus package prospects and the possibility of vaccination against the coronavirus may prevent COVID-19 deaths with increased supply.
A bipartisan $908 billion coronavirus aid plan gained momentum in the U.S. Congress. There is a possibility that an agreement may be signed this weekend.
Brent settled up 54 cents or 1.11% at $49.25 a barrel. During the session, the contract hit its highest since early March at $49.92. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 62 cents to $46.26 a barrel, after touching a high of $46.68 a barrel.
Both benchmarks gained for a fifth consecutive week, with Brent up 1.7% and WTI crude up 1.9%.
OPEC and its allies agreed on a compromise Thursday to slightly increase production starting in January, but maintained many of the current supply restrictions to cope with the demand hit by the coronavirus.
OPEC and Russia agreed to reduce deep oil production cuts with undefined increases monthly, to be 500,000 barrels a day in January and / but could not agree on a broader policy for the remainder of 2021 after January.
Prior to the reconciliation, OPEC + was expected to continue with current cuts, at least until March, after abandoning plans to increase production by 2 million barrels.
The decision means that the group will reduce production by 7.2 million barrels in January, or 7% of global demand, compared to current cuts of 7.7 million barrels.
While some analysts saw an undersupplied oil market even under the new higher supply quotas, others expected the barrels would tip the market into oversupply.
The premium for Brent crude oil futures for delivery in the coming months is at the highest level since February. Nowadays, it is monitored that the overall supply is tightened and the available abundance is decreasing.
Meanwhile, US production has recovered after its lowest in two and a half years in May, mainly because shale oil producers are bringing the wells back online in response to rising prices.
The number of US oil rigs is said to have risen to 246, with five rises, the highest level since May.
