Oil prices caught their breath on Friday after new records in more than nine months reached the day before, in a market which hopes for progress on a recovery plan within the first consumer country of crude.

Around 10:55 a.m. GMT (11:55 a.m. in Paris), a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in February dropped 0.35% in London compared to Thursday's close, at 51.32 dollars, after touching 51 the day before, 90 dollars, a record since March 5.

The American barrel of WTI for the month of January dropped 0.21% to 48.26 dollars, after having reached 48.59 dollars on Thursday, its highest since March 3.

It is possible to see the market yield more ground on Friday "especially if the stimulus agreement in the United States is not ratified before the end of the day", commented Stephen Innes, analyst at Axi.

The elected members of the United States Congress began marathon negotiations at the start of the week to reach a compromise on new aid measures for American companies and homes hit by the recession.

Many aid stops in the coming days and, if Democrats and Republicans say they are on the right track to find a compromise, the bill has not yet been voted on.

Several analysts also questioned the "enthusiasm" of the oil markets in recent days and warned of the number and importance of downside factors such as the strength of the spread of Covid-19 on both sides of the Atlantic and a still fragile agreement within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies, who meet on January 4.

The prices of the two benchmark contracts have appreciated by more than 40% since their last lows reached at the beginning of November, mainly driven by hopes for the recovery in demand fueled by vaccines against Covid-19.

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France Media Agency