Oil prices were up on Thursday afternoon despite new and extended lockdowns that promise to slow any oil demand rebound that was expected for 2021. At 4:07 p.m. EST, WTI crude was trading at $53.61 per barrel, up $.70 (+1.32%) on the day. Brent crude was trading up $0.28 (0.43%) on the day at $56.30. This comes even as China locks down more than 22 million citizens amid a new wave of Covid-19, on top of announcements that there will be extended curfews in France that will last 12 hours of the day, beginning on Saturday. In fact, Europe’s oil demand has failed to start the year with any sort of bang, slumping 1.76 million barrels per day so far this month, according to Rystad Energy, as road use in the UK, France, Italy, and Spain fell 37% last week compared with pre-virus levels. Bolstering oil prices, particularly WTI, […]