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Several U.S. states reported record daily increases in
infections on Thursday, while France extended curfews for about
two thirds of its population as the second wave of the COVID-19
pandemic sweeps across Europe.
Brent crude <LCOc1> rose 20 cents, or 0.5%, to $42.66 a barrel
by 1140 GMT, having gained 1.7% on Thursday. U.S. crude <CLc1>
added 15 cents, or 0.4%, to $40.79. Both contracts are heading
for a weekly loss.
"There is little in the way of support from the demand side in
view of the extremely high number of new COVID-19 cases," said
Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg. "There is also pressure on
prices from the supply side."
Libyan output, which had been mostly offline since January, has
reached 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) and will rise further by
the end of October.
Oil gained some support from comments by Russian President
Vladimir Putin on Thursday that Moscow did not rule out
extending OPEC+ oil output cuts.
"The only bullish piece of news comes from Russia," said Bjornar
Tonhaugen of Rystad Energy.
OPEC+, a group that includes Russia and the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is due to increase
production by 2 million bpd in January 2021 as part of a plan to
pump more as demand recovers.
However, the second wave of the pandemic and resulting slowdown
in the demand recovery have raised the question of whether the
increase is premature.
OPEC+ made a record supply cut from May, which boosted prices
from historic lows. Brent is up from a 21-year low below $16 in
April.
(Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Alex
Richardson and David Goodman)
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