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Crude hit its highest since the start of the pandemic on Monday
after Yemen's Houthi forces fired drones and missiles at Saudi
oil sites on Sunday. Saudi Arabia said it thwarted the strike
and prices slipped as supply fears eased.
Brent crude was up 89 cents, or 1.3%, at $69.13 by 1200 GMT,
after trading as low as $67.61. It reached to $71.38 on Monday,
its highest since Jan. 8, 2020.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) added 82 cents to $65.87,
after hitting its highest since October 2018 on Monday.
"Dips have been lately viewed as buying opportunities," said
Tamas Varga of broker PVM. "Last week's OPEC+ meeting will
ensure that the global oil balance will get tighter in the
foreseeable future."
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC),
Russia and allies, known as OPEC+, decided on Thursday to
broadly stick to output cuts, fuelling a rally.
"With a structural undersupply in the physical market now, any
dips in oil prices are likely to attract physical buyers'
attention," said Jeffrey Halley of broker OANDA.
Prices also rose on expectations of economic recovery after the
U.S. Senate approved a $1.9 trillion stimulus package,
outweighing a stronger U.S. dollar, which tends to crimp
investor demand for commodities.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday the aid
package would provide enough resources to fuel a "very strong"
U.S. economic recovery. The U.S. House of Representatives must
still approve it.
In another development that would support prices, U.S. crude
stockpiles are expected to drop. The first of this week's
reports, from the American Petroleum Institute, is out at 2130
GMT. [EIA/S]
(Additional reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; Editing by Edmund
Blair and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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