Oil crosses the $ 50 barrier

Baghdad-INA

 Oil prices continued to rise today, Friday, amid optimism that the imminent introduction of vaccines against COVID-19 will lead to strong economic growth next year.

 Brent crude futures were trading at $ 50.34 a barrel, an increase of 0.19% over the previous settlement price.  The "Brent" contracts ended yesterday's trading at an increase of $ 1.39 a barrel, or 2.8% at $ 50.25 a barrel.

 US crude futures, "West Texas Intermediate", were trading at 46.9 dollars a barrel, up 0.26% from the previous closing price.  And US crude contracts closed at $ 46.78 a barrel, up $ 1.26 a barrel.

 The prices of "Brent" and US crude in trading yesterday, Thursday, the highest level since last March.

 "Oil prices continued to rise on Thursday, despite the massive growth of 15.2 million barrels in US inventories last week," said Phil Flynn, chief analyst at Price Futures Group.