Crude oil futures settled higher on Friday, lifted by optimism about a Covid-19 vaccine and a likely pick-up in energy demand once the vaccines get the nod from drug regulators. Oil was also supported by expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies will eventually agree to defer relaxing output curbs so as to balance the oil market. OPEC and its allies are scheduled to meet on November 30 and December 1 to consider options to delay tapering their output cuts by around 2 million barrels per day. Higher crude output from Libya raised concerns about likely excess supply in the market and limited oil's uptick.
Crude oil futures for December rose $0.41 or about 1 percent to settle at $42.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, on the expiration day. January Brent crude gained $0.60 or 1.3 percent to settle at $44.80 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.