Crude oil futures were higher in Asia afternoon trade July 23 as the market reacted positively to news of further developments in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine, after they slipped overnight following a bearish US stock build. At 2:11 pm Singapore time (0611 GMT), ICE September Brent crude futures rose 13 cents/b (0.29%) from the July 22 settle at $44.42/b, while the NYMEX September light sweet crude contract rose 13 cents/b (0.31%) at $42.03/b.
“The US government had engaged drug maker Pfizer and co to mass produce vaccines as its COVID-19 vaccine candidate embarks on its late stage testing,” said Pan Jingyi, market strategist at IG, in a note July 23. “Although this will be contingent of the eventual success of the test results, it had nevertheless drawn the cheer from markets with hopes that a positive result here could finally alleviate some of the inconveniences brought about by COVID-19 and propel us towards normality,” she added…
