Brent gets another shot in the arm from vaccine news

Crude futures rose this morning after more encouraging news about potential vaccines against Covid-19.

US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer said final phase-3 testing on the candidate vaccine it revealed last week showed it is 95pc effective in trial participants that have not had Covid-19. Last week Pfizer and its partner, Germany's Biontech, said the product was more than 90pc effective.

Crude futures prices rose sharply then, and rose again today. The front-month Ice Brent contract reached as high as $44.80/bl after Pfizer's announcement, up by 2.4pc from yesterday's close. The US Nymex front month contract pushed higher to $42.38/bl, up by 2.3pc from yesterday's close.

Pfizer also said today that it has attained the safety milestones required by the US FDA, and it will submit an application for use within days.

Crude futures prices have gained support from a succession of vaccine-related announcements since Pfizer's initial prognosis, with hopes for a global oil-demand recovery broadly dependent on the availability of a working Covid-19 preventative. Russia has said that its vaccine is 92pc effective, and US biotech firm Moderna said its contribution is 94.5pc effective.

But there is a long road between now and mass vaccination, and the IEA last week said that any effects would not be seen in oil demand until well into next year.

By Ben Winkley