Oil prices are expected to remain around current levels for most of this year before a recovery gains ground towards the end of 2021.
Oil prices rose on Monday after a weak start, adding to the gains of the last three months, although patchy coronavirus vaccine rollouts, new infections and the discovery of new variants are casting a shadow over the outlook for demand.
Brent crude futures were up 36 cents, or 0.7%, at $55.40 a barrel by 0612 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 24 cents, or 0.5%, to $52.44. Both benchmarks gained nearly 8% in January, as reported by Reuters.
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Still, with more vaccines proving successful in trials and infections falling in some areas, demand for oil and fuel is likely to pick up as more of the world's population gets inoculated against COVID-19.
Oil prices are expected to remain around current levels for most of this year before a recovery gains ground towards the end of 2021, a Reuters poll showed late on Friday.