Britain NEWS

With the rollout of COVID-19 vaccine in Britain, oil prices rose on Thursday. And the United States is also expected to approve the vaccine soon which would witness a spur in fuel demand. WTI went up by 0.5% and was traded at $45.75 a barrel. Brent increased by 0.4% and was traded at $49.07 a barrel.

Total has agreed to sell its Lindsey refinery in Lincolnshire, northeast England, to Prax Group. The refinery has an annual production capacity of 5.4 million tons. Since the sale of the British retail network in 2011, the Lindsey refinery hasn’t been part of Total’s downstream system. It is expected to be put to better use within the Prax Group, an independent player with a growing UK network.

Oil prices increased on Wednesday with the rise of equities. Investors are hoping for a potential Brexit deal between Britain and the European Union which had an impact on the market. Brent rose and was traded at $58.95 a barrel. WTI gained 0.3% and was traded at $52.97 a barrel. According to the analysts, any deal which will avoid "hard" Brexit might boost economic growth and oil prices.

Iran has made it very clear that nothing will stop the nation to export its oil. Foreign Minister of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif told its British counterpart that "Iran will continue its oil exports under any conditions". He has also appealed to Britain for releasing the Grace 1 oil tanker. This tanker was seized last week by the British Royal Marines.