Oil prices rose around 1 per cent on Tuesday in sympathy with a rally in the equity markets but investors remained jittery over the Wuhan virus that has now killed over 1,000 in China.
Brent crude rose 53 cents, nearly 1 per cent, to $53.80 a barrel by 0730 GMT, retreating from an intraday high of $54.16. US West Texas Intermediate was up 46 cents, about 1 per cent, at $50.18 a barrel.
Both benchmarks, however, were still more than 20 per cent below their January peaks.
“A broad positive sentiment across Asia markets seems to have boosted crude oil prices,” Margaret Yang, market analyst of CMC Markets, told Reuters.
