SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices rose on Tuesday following U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House from hospital after being treated for COVID-19 last Friday.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 24 cents, or 0.58%, to $41.53 a barrel at 0624 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures were trading up 21 cents, or 0.54%, at $39.43 a barrel.
Prices fell sharply last Friday when Trump went into hospital, then climbed more than 5% on Monday after he said he would return to the White House and as hopes grew that a deal could be agreed for a U.S. economic stimulus package to counter the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
An expanding strike by workers in Norway, which shut six offshore oil and gas fields, and the evacuation of oil platforms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico ahead of Tropical Storm Delta heading toward Louisiana and Florida also helped support prices, Reuters reported.
The strike will cut Norway’s total output capacity by just over 330,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or about 8% of total production, according to the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association.
Meanwhile hopes for a bipartisan U.S. economic relief package grew as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke on Monday and prepared to talk again Tuesday, continuing a recent flurry of activity working towards a deal on legislation.
