Oil prices fall after earlier gains as rising global Covid-19 cases

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices fell after earlier gains on Wednesday as rising global COVID-19 cases took the shine off a rally spurred by a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent crude prices were down 34 cents, or 0.6%, at $56.24 a barrel by 1512 GMT. Prices rose as far as $57.42 a barrel earlier in the session, the highest since Feb. 24.

The next milestone for Brent prices is a rise above $60, a level not seen since late January 2020.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 16 cents, or 0.3%, at $53.05, after hitting a session high of $53.93, its highest since Feb. 20.