Oil rose towards $82 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by tight supply and hopes that rising coronavirus cases and the spread of the Omicron variant will not derail a global demand recovery.
Opec supply additions are running below their allowed increase under a pact with allies due to a lack of capacity in some countries. Major economies have avoided a return to severe lockdowns, even as coronavirus cases soar.
"Despite continuously rising Omicron cases, European governments have taken the view that the time is now right to ease restrictions, raising the hopes of oil demand recovery," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.
Brent crude gained 88 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $81.75 a barrel at 0915 GMT, after dropping 1 per cent in the previous session. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 95 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $79.18, after falling 0.8 per cent on Monday.
The price of Brent rose 50 per cent in 2021 and has rallied further in 2022 as investors see Omicron having a limited effect on demand while Opec and its allies, known as Opec+, slowly ease record output cuts made in 2020.
"Omicron has yet to wreak the havoc of the delta variant and may never do so, keeping the global recovery on track," said Jeffrey Halley, analyst at brokerage OANDA.
A weaker US dollar also helped support oil on Tuesday, as it makes oil cheaper for those holding other currencies and tends to reflect higher investor risk appetite.
In what would be a further indication of tight supply, the latest weekly reports on US inventories are expected to show US crude stockpiles fell by about 2 million barrels. This would be the seventh straight week of decline.
The first of this week's two US supply reports, from the American Petroleum Institute (API), is due at 2130 GMT. --Reuters