14.01.202119:04:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle At 11-month High

Crude oil prices rebounded from early losses to end notably higher on Thursday on hopes a big stimulus from the Joe Biden administration and the Covid vaccination drive will help lift energy demand.

The recent data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories and Saudi Arabia's decision to cut crude output by 1 million barrels per day in February and March contributed as well to oil's uptick. A weak dollar also supported crude prices.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended up by $0.66 or about 1.3% at $53.57 a barrel, the highest settlement since mid-February 2020.

Brent crude futures were up $0.25 or 0.4% at $56.31 a barrel a little while ago.

Data released by Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday showed that crude inventories fell 3.247 million barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations for a 2.26 million-barrel draw.

A fresh U.S. stimulus package, expected to be announced later in the day by Joe Biden will likely include $2,000 in stimulus checks, funding to state and local governments and other emergency spending measures. CNN reported that Biden is mulling huge spending package worth about $2 trillion.