New York (awp / afp) – Oil prices rose on Wednesday after a difficult start to the week, benefiting in particular from a drop in American reserves of crude oil and petroleum products.

A barrel of Brent North Sea oil for February delivery rose 2.24% or $1.12 in London to $51.20.

The US barrel of WTI for the month of February gained 2.34% or 1 dollar to 48.12 dollars.

At the end of the last two sessions, the two benchmark contracts had erased some of the significant gains recorded since the beginning of November, which had allowed them to rise to their pre-pandemic level.

US inventories of crude oil, gasoline and distillate products fell in the United States last week, according to a report from the US Energy Information Agency (EIA).

This has given a dose of optimism to investors, who hope to see consumption pick up next year after suffering a sharp halt in 2020 with the pandemic and limited travel.

"Our indicators in the United States are starting to show more robust activity," notes Bjornar Tonhaugen of Rystad Energy. "As we have already told our customers, shale oil is a monster that can be slowed down, but cannot be killed."

"In addition, a new breath is to be considered on the geopolitical scene next year", announces the expert.

The new US administration, which is due to take office at the end of January, could in particular adopt a more conciliatory tone towards Iran and ease its economic sanctions, which would allow Tehran to sell more barrels on the world market.

In terms of health, the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 gives hope for a return to normal transport and a resumption of global consumption of black gold.

The factors likely to weigh on prices remain numerous, however, starting with the policy of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners, which must gradually increase their rate of production after agreeing to quotas for their extractions in recent months.

The too rapid return to the market of a large number of barrels could once again cause prices to plunge.