Oil prices, which were down at the start of the American session, reversed the trend and ended up in a market hoping for a new stimulus plan in the United States, which could boost consumption of black gold.

A barrel of Brent North Sea oil for March delivery was up 36 cents or 0.64% in London from the previous day's close at $56.42.

The US barrel of WTI for the month of February gained 66 cents or 1.25%, to 53.37 dollars.

This is the highest closing price for WTI since the end of February 2020.

US President-elect Joe Biden is due to unveil measures Thursday evening to help the United States emerge from the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The future Democratic tenant of the White House, whose mandate will officially begin on January 20, has promised "trillions of dollars" to revive the American economy.

A recovery in activity should benefit oil demand, which has been greatly reduced by confinements and limited travel during the coronavirus pandemic.

During the session on Thursday, investors took note of the monthly report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

After a drop in global demand for crude oil of 9.8 million barrels per day last year due to the pandemic and the slowdown or even virtual shutdown of certain activities, such as air transport, OPEC is still expecting a rebound of 5.9 million barrels per day in 2021.

“While the organization left its demand forecast for this year unchanged, it highlighted the risks to economic recovery in 2021,” noted Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

Investors also digested data on crude oil reserves in the United States, which fell by 3.2 million barrels last week, according to a report from the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA). ) aired Wednesday.

But the report also "betrayed near-term weakness in gasoline demand," said Neil Wilson of Markets.com.

US gasoline reserves have indeed increased by 4.4 million barrels, while analysts expected an increase half that. Also up are stocks of distilled products (fuel oil and heating gas), barometers of industrial activity.