Crude oil futures ended higher for 2nd straight day on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia and Russia reportedly held a discussion by phone, reiterating the OPEC+ commitment to abide by the production-cut agreement. However, a report by the International Energy Agency underlined fears an acceleration in new COVID-19 cases around the world will dent demand for crude, limiting gains for prices. Meanwhile, the global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 climbed to 38.2 million on Wednesday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, with 16 US states adding more new cases in the last seven days through Monday that in any other since the start of the pandemic.
Crude oil futures for November rose 84 cents or 2.1 percent to settle at $41.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. December Brent crude gained 87 cents or 2.1 percent to settle at $43.32 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.