Futures race to 6-wk highs as US optimism outweighs Asia concerns

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) – Crude oil futures reached six-week highs in London and New York Thursday, as optimism on the demand recovery again outweighed concerns that lockdowns across Asia could hamper the rebound.

Brent futures for June were trading at $68.39/barrel in London (1448GMT), compared to Wednesday's settle of $67.27/b, an increase of 1.66% on the day.

Brent last traded at this level in mid-March.

At the same time, June WTI was trading at $64.67, up $0.81/b/b from Wednesday's settlement of $63.86/b, also the highest level since mid-March.

Markets continued to react to Wednesday's Energy Information Administration data showing a draw of 3.3 million barrels in US distillate inventories, while the small increase in crude stocks beat forecasts for a higher build.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 outbreak in India will create a glut of oil in the region, energy consultants Rystad said Wednesday, as demand in the world's fourth biggest consumer falls at the same time as OPEC+ nations increase output.

India, which is currently battling record infections of over 350,000 a day, has locked down many of its huge cities, curbing demand for oil liquids to the tune of 575,000 b/d in April and that figure is set to increase to 915,000 b/d in May, the Norway-based researchers said.