Oil Rebounds Despite Recovery Concerns and Uncertainty

Oil prices rebounded on Thursday, recovering some of its recent huge losses, after data showed a drop in the U.S. crude oil inventories, despite uncertainty about the future of the OPEC+ output cuts.

In addition, markets are seeing rising concerns about the pace of economic recovery and resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic due to the new variants despite the increased rate of vaccination, which limited the gains of oil futures.

Brent crude futures for September delivery gained 69 cents, or 0.94%, to finish at $74.12 per barrel.

This marked the first rise for the global benchmark’s front-month contracts after two consecutive declines.

In the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for August delivery added 74 cents, or 1.02%, to close at $72.94 per barrel, in the first rise in four sessions and the biggest increase since July 1.