In the wake of oil prices, Total bought nearly 4% at 35.8 euros at midday, leading the CAC40. Buoyed by the latest information on future vaccines against Covid-19 and the hope that the first vaccinations will take place as early as December 11 in the United States if the product developed by Pfizer is authorized, the barrel of American light crude oil (WTI) for delivery in January gains 1.4% to 43 dollars on Nymex, the highest since the beginning of September. On the other hand, the North Sea Brent oil advanced by 1.5% to

Despite lockdown measures in Europe and the spread of the pandemic in the United States, global crude stocks would begin to fall. The quantity of oil stored on offshore tankers thus fell to 115 million barrels last week, the lowest level since April, Vortexa data show

China has also reduced its high oil inventories due, on the one hand, to increased domestic demand, and on the other hand, to the fall in imports due to the fact that independent refiners have used up most of their quotas. “For a nation that normally sees an accumulation of raw materials at the end of the year, it's completely anti-seasonal,” Li Li, an analyst at ICIS-China, told Bloomberg

On the supply side, Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed to have hit a Saudi Aramco fuel distribution center in Jeddah on the western coast of the Saudi kingdom with a missile. The Houthis have been increasing cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia since last May and the expiration of a truce in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Saudi-led coalition, which has been intervening militarily in Yemen since 2015, has in response carried out airstrikes against territories held by the Houthis. They control most of the north of the country, including the capital Sanaa

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Russia, could also extend its agreement to limit cartel production by several months. OPEC+ is meeting next week

“A positive sense of risk, a weaker dollar and these unconfirmed missile attacks are supporting oil,” notes Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS.