By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – U.S. crude oil prices settled higher on Thursday, but gains were limited as a jump in coronavirus cases threatened to renew demand-destroying lockdowns.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures rose 1.87% to $38.72 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), Brent added 1.8% to $41.05 a barrel.
The rebound from session lows arrived as investors continue to assess the impact of rising Covid-19 cases, which are forcing some parts of the U.S. to scale back reopening measures.
"The biggest risk is and remains the recovery of demand, which is now hanging in the balance following a steep rise in new Covid-19 cases," Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) said in a note.
New infections reached 38,115 nationwide on Wednesday, the highest since the pandemic began.
Oil prices, however, are little changed heading into the final day of trading for the week following a slump on Wednesday as a surge in production pushed inventories to record highs.
The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported a 1.4 million-barrel rise in U.S. crude stockpiles, to an all-time-high 541 million barrels.