Oil prices climb towards $80 per barrel on tight supply; stocks fall

Weekly data from the US Energy Information Administration is due later on Wednesday

Oil prices edged towards $80 per barrel on Wednesday as global supply outages and declining US inventories offset worries that rising Covid cases might reduce demand.

Brent crude rose to as much as $79.20 a barrel earlier before retreating to trade flat on the day at $78.01 a barrel by 1055 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude edged 13 cents lower to $75.85 a barrel, having climbed to $76.17.

Both contracts are trading near their highest levels in a month, aided by the strength in global equities.

"Markets are overwhelmingly pricing in the latest coronavirus variant as a milder incarnation, despite its easier