Brent futures are trading at $44.52 a barrel for the first time since early March when a meeting between OPEC and its allies broke down acrimoniously and the alliance began a short-lived price war.
Since then, prices have recovered but remain range-bound as worldwide virus cases approach 15 million and various U.S. states mull reimposing lockdown measures.
Oil futures for September settlement settled at the highest level since early March on the ICE exchange as indications of an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic helped drive a rally in commodities.
Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped more than 2 percent during Tuesday’s session. European Union leaders agreed on an unprecedented stimulus package to pull their economies out of the worst recession in memory.
At the same time, European regulators are eyeing a potential approval of the first Covid-19 vaccine this year, further adding to the positive sentiment.
On the supply side, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute showed a build in U.S. crude stockpiles of 7.5 million barrels last week, which would be the largest since the week of May 22.