Oil gains as vaccine hopes outweigh lockdown impact

LONDON: Oil prices rose on Tuesday as hopes that a COVID-19 vaccine could be on the horizon outweighed the expected negative impact on fuel demand of new lockdowns to curb the virus.

Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.8%, to $42.74 by 1312 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 20 cents, or 0.5%, to $40.49.