World oil prices rose on Wednesday morning amid expectations of an increase in demand ahead of the Christmas holidays and on statistics from the American Petroleum Institute (API) on a decrease in oil reserves in the United States, Report informs.
As of 9:00 am (GMT +4), the price of Brent crude February futures grew by 0.23%, to $74.15 per barrel, and February futures of WTI went up by 0.41% to $71. 41.
According to API data released on Wednesday night, US commercial oil inventories fell 3.7 million barrels in the week ended December 17.
Traders also continue to monitor the situation with the new coronavirus strain. The increase in the incidence poses a risk of tightening quarantine measures in different countries, which may affect the global economy's recovery and the demand for raw materials. So, the tightening of restrictions continues in Europe: on Tuesday, a list of quarantine measures was announced in Germany, and strict restrictions for the unvaccinated were preserved.
At the same time, traders are more inclined to take risks after the recent sell-off in the markets, which is associated with positive expectations of business activity, and hence the oil demand, ahead of the Christmas holidays.