Oil set for third week of gains on Covid-19 vaccine hopes

Oil prices edged higher on Friday, on track for a third consecutive weekly rise, buoyed by successful Covid-19 vaccine trials, while renewed lockdowns in several countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus capped gains.

Brent crude futures rose 36 cents to $44.56 a barrel by 10:38 a.m. EDT (1538 GMT).

The more active U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) January crude contract gained 19 cents to $42.09 a barrel. The WTI contract for December, which expires on Friday, was up 14 cents to $41.88 a barrel.

Both benchmarks are up more than 4% so far this week.

Prospects for effective Covid-19 vaccines have bolstered oil markets this week. Pfizer Inc said it will apply to U.S. health regulators on Friday for emergency use authoritization of its vaccine, the first such application in a major step toward providing protection against the new coronavirus.