Oil edges higher on U.S., Europe demand hopes

By Sonali Paul
MELBOURNE, April 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday on
hopes of a fuel demand recovery in the United States and Europe
as economic growth picks up and lockdowns ease, but worries
about India's raging second wave of COVID-19 cases kept a lid on
gains.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 21 cents, or 0.3%, to
$65.61 a barrel at 0137 GMT, after climbing 8 cents on Thursday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures
jumped 29 cents, or 0.5%, to $61.72 a barrel, also after an 8
cent gain on Thursday.
"The market shrugged off last week's (U.S. oil) inventory
build, instead comforted by the continued improvement in
gasoline demand," ANZ analysts said in a note.
U.S. refiner Valero said gasoline and diesel demand were
back to 93% and 100% of the levels they were at before the
pandemic, with chief commercial officer Gary Simmons saying the
company is "pretty bullish on gasoline going forward".
Improving conditions in Europe also buoyed sentiment. France
said schools would reopen on Monday and domestic travel curbs in
place since early April restricting people to within 10 km (6
miles) of their homes would end on May 3. "With the COVID headline shockers from India and Japan
fading to the back burner and so far no related risk of
mutations spilling back into the U.S. and Europe, (the) buy-in
dip has remained the order of the day," said Axi's chief market
strategist Stephen Innes.
Nevertheless, both benchmark crude contracts are headed for
a weekly loss of nearly 2% on concerns about sliding fuel demand
in India, the world's third largest oil importer, where daily
infections and deaths from COVID-19 hit new records this week.
Several countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada, and
the United Arab Emirates, have barred or cut flights from India.