Mid-Week Review – August 25, 2021

Oil steadies near $71 after two-day rally

Oil prices steadied near $71 a barrel, taking a breather after a strong rally in recent days as Mexico was set to resume crude production following a major outage. Brent crude was up 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $71.19 a barrel by 1028 GMT, reversing earlier losses. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up8 cents, or 0.12%, to $67.62. Both benchmark contracts over the previous two days rose by about 8%. That rally erased most of the slump from a seven-day losing streak on the back of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. Click Here to read more from Reuters.

Oil prices rally as China’s virus success eases demand fears
Oil prices in New York gained for a second session, building on the biggest one-day gain in nine months, amid glimmers of optimism among bulls that the delta coronavirus variant’s hit to demand may be passing. U.S. oil futures rose as much as 2.9% while Brent futures topped $70 a barrel. China has rapidly brought local virus cases down to zero and traffic is showing signs of recovery, although the variant continues to impact other regions. In yet another positive sign for demand, the country re-opened its Ningbo port, one of the busiest in the world, after a two-week shutdown. Separately, a fire on a Mexican oil platform wiped out more than 400,000 barrels a day of the nation’s output, curbing supply. Click Here to read more from World Oil.

Oil jumps as much as 6%, snapping longest losing streak since 2019

Oil prices jumped Monday, snapping a seven-day losing streak that was crude’s worst since 2019, as the dollar pulled back and traders bet the recent selling was overdone. “News of zero new cases in China has certainly provided a tailwind as it gives added light at the end of the Covid tunnel and a breath of fresh air to the demand landscape,” noted analysts at Blue Line Futures. “Additionally, the U.S. Dollar has retreated from recent highs, underpinning the commodity landscape broadly.” Click Here to read more from CNBC.

US Covid cases among children have surged to one of its highest rates of the pandemic. Experts warn it may get worse

Last week, the number of Covid-19 cases in children in the US reached levels not seen since the winter surge. And with the return to school, the Delta variant on the rise and winter approaching, health officials are concerned it could get worse. After a decline in early summer, child cases have increased exponentially — with more than a four-fold increase in the past month, according to the latest report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. From about 38,000 cases a week near the end of July, the week ending August 19 saw more than 180,000 cases in children, the report said. Click Here to read more from CNN.