oil rose to a more than two-month high above $45 a barrel on Wednesday on hopes of an effective COVID-19 vaccine and an industry report showing US crude inventories fell more than expected.Brent was up $1.41, or 3.2%, at $45.02 at 1118 GMT, the first time it cleared the $45 threshold since early September.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also added $1.41 cents, or 3.4%, to $42.77 a barrel.Both benchmarks had gained nearly 3% on Tuesday."This week's news about a coronavirus vaccine was encouraging and, alongside short-covering activity, strongly supported oil prices on Monday and Tuesday," said Giovanni Staunovo, oil analyst for UBS.The bank cautioned that European lockdowns and restored Libyan oil output could weigh on prices in the.