Oil prices were up on Friday, driven by advances in vaccines against Covid-19 and the return of negotiations around a recovery plan in the United States, investors however remaining attentive to a possible disagreement within the 'OPEC+.

Around 10:40 a.m. GMT (11:40 a.m. in Paris), a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in January gained 0.97% compared to Thursday's close, at 44.63 dollars.

In New York, the US barrel of WTI for December, which is the last trading day, climbed 0.65% to 42.01 dollars.

Both benchmarks were up around 4% since the start of the week.

"Demand concerns, which have weighed on prices since the spring, are now giving way to hopes of an economic recovery, thanks in particular to the imminent launch of vaccines," said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank.

After the good news on the spectacular effectiveness of future vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, it was the turn of the British laboratory AstraZeneca on Thursday to announce encouraging results from its vaccine in the elderly, a positive sign for the lifting of restrictions. displacement of goods and people that torpedo the consumption of black gold.

“On the other hand, the production discipline of OPEC+, the main factor supporting supply, could run out of steam,” warned Mr. Weinberg.

The United Arab Emirates, currently the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) after Saudi Arabia and Iraq, "has recently shown some reluctance to continue to fully implement voluntary reductions in beyond the end of the year," he continued.

Members of the alliance of producing countries, known by the acronym OPEC+, will meet at the end of the month to decide on the quantities of crude that will return to the market on January 1, or later.

The resumption of US budget discussions were also likely to support crude prices, said Jeffrey Halley of Oanda.

The teams of elected Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and the House of Representatives met Thursday afternoon to discuss two subjects, including that of a recovery plan, according to a Democratic source in Congress.

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