Crude oil futures ended higher on Monday amid hopes the rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine will help revive the economy and result in increased energy demand. The United States has begun giving Covid-19 vaccine shots and vaccinations were rolling out across the country starting Monday, with hospitals prioritizing front-line healthcare workers. This follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention giving its nod for Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine. However, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lowering its energy demand forecast for 2020 and 2021 weighed on oil prices and limited their upside.
Crude oil futures for January gained $0.42 or 0.9 percent to settle at $46.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. February Brent crude rose $0.28 or 0.56 percent to settle at $50.25 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.