Oil prices gain as Covid-19 vaccine hopes outweigh lockdown impact

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 from new lockdowns to contain the virus.

Brent crude futures rose 53 cents, or 1.3%, to $42.93 by 1435 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 54 cents, or 1.3%, to $40.83.

Both contracts jumped 8% on Monday in their biggest daily gains in more than five months after drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech said that their experimental Covid-19 treatment was more than 90% effective based on initial trial results.

Mass rollouts, however, are likely to be months away and subject to regulatory approvals.