U.S. oil futures shook off earlier losses from concerns over a potential release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to finish with a slight gain for the session on Monday. “While the Biden administration has been mulling an SPR release to force oil prices lower, it would appear the virus may well be doing the job for him in Europe, with Austria ordering a lockdown of the unvaccinated and Ireland urging people to work from home again,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. Still, many analysts have said that a U.S. release of oil from the emergency reserve would only help to provide a short-term pullback in oil and gasoline prices. December West Texas Intermediate oil tacked on 9 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $80.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded as low as $79.30, the lowest intraday level for a front-month contract since Nov. 5, FactSet data show.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
