Oil closes at highest level since March on vaccine trials, Biden transition

Oil rose about 4% on Tuesday to touch highs not seen since March as a third promising coronavirus vaccine raised hope for fuel- demand recovery and US President-elect Joseph Biden began his transition to the White House.

Brent crude settled at $47.86 a barrel, gaining $1.80, or 3.9%. US West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $44.91 a barrel, rising $1.85, or 4.3%.

Both benchmarks ended at their highest close since March 5.

AstraZeneca on Monday said that its Covid-19 vaccine was 70% effective in trials and could be up to 90% effective, giving the fight against the pandemic another potential vaccine after positive results from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.