Reuters: Oil prices rebound as U.S. House passes huge stimulus bill

Oil prices rebounded more than $1 on Monday after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a huge stimulus package, although a drop in China's February factory activity growth capped gains.

Brent crude futures for May rose $1.07, or 1.7%, to $65.49 per barrel by 0410 GMT. The April contract expired on Friday, as reported by Reuters.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures jumped $1.01, or 1.6%, to $62.51 a barrel.

Front-month prices for both contracts touched 13-month highs last week, slipping back on Friday along with wider financial markets following a bond rout amid inflation fears.

Read alsoWintershall Dea halts funding for Nord Stream 2The U.S. House passed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package early on Saturday, lifting investors' risk appetite and Asian stock markets. The package will now move to the U.S. Senate for further deliberation.

Manufacturing data from top Asian oil importers were mixed, however, as China's factory activity growth slipped to a nine-month low in February, while manufacturing in Japan expanded the fastest in more than two years.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, will meet on Thursday and could discuss allowing as much as 1.5 million barrels per day of crude back in the market.

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