The price of a barrel of benchmark crude oil in Europe concluded above the 50 dollar threshold on Thursday, for the first time since March 6, driven by optimism linked to vaccination campaigns against Covid-19.

A barrel of Brent North Sea oil for February delivery climbed 2.84% or $1.39 to $50.25.

In New York, the US barrel of WTI for the month of January ended up 2.76% or 1.26 dollars at 46.78 dollars.

“Seeing prices climb again today (Thursday) is a clear indication of growing market confidence in vaccination campaigns” against Covid-19, Rystad analyst Bjornar Tonhaugen explained as the Kingdom United launched its own on Tuesday and that Canada gave the green light to the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine.

“The market is now focused on the distribution of vaccines, which could lead to a spike in demand” for black gold, said Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group.

In the United States, the decision of the American Medicines Agency (FDA) on the authorization of this vaccine is expected these days.

On the side of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its ten producer allies, identified by the acronym OPEC+, an agreement was reached last week to only very gently open the black gold tap from January. .

"OPEC's quota extension should keep the market afloat through the winter. Demand should then increase throughout next year to a more normal level as vaccines are released. in the market," said Stephen Innes of Axi.

The market seemed to ignore the sharp rise in US crude oil inventories.

The report released Wednesday by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) showed a very sharp rise in commercial crude inventories in the country, by more than 15 million barrels for the week ended 4 December, a signal of weak demand across the Atlantic.

This figure surprised analysts who expected a slight decline.

The United States had experienced a similar increase in its crude inventories in April, but such a weekly increase is extremely rare.

"It's not every day that the market ignores rising crude inventories in the United States, especially of this size," said Tonhaugen.