Fundamental analysis
18 May, 2021
Oil prices climbed on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous day, as optimism over the reopenings of the U.S. and European economies outweighed fears of slower fuel demand in Asia due to surging COVID-19 cases and a new wave of restrictions. The British economy reopened yesterday, giving 65 million people a measure of freedom after a four-month COVID-19 lockdown. And with accelerating vaccination rates, France and Spain have relaxed restrictions, and Portugal and the Netherlands have opened up travel. In the United States, New York state will no longer require masks in most public spaces for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Wednesday, and other regions are opening up their economies as well. In India, the second-hardest hit by the pandemic, domestic sales of gasoline and diesel by state refiners plunged by a fifth in the first half of May from a month earlier as pandemic lockdowns hit industrial activities and consumption, preliminary data showed on Monday.
