Brent crude futures for March rose 86 cents to $51.95 a barrel by 1410 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for February was at $48.51 a barrel, up 89 cents

The administration of US President Donald Trump also put curbs on PDVSA's main trading partners, the owners of tankers still transporting Venezuelan oil and on fuel supply to the gasoline-thirsty nation

The domestic unit opened at 73.02 against the US dollar at the interbank forex market and later fell to 73.15 against the greenback, registering a fall of 13 paise over its previous close

Prices rose in line with broader financial markets with Brent crude futures reaching $53.33 a barrel, the highest since March 2020. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude touched $49.83 a barrel, the highest since February 2020

Russian oil and gas condensate output declined to 10.27 million barrels per day (bpd) last year, according to energy ministry data cited by the Interfax news agency

Forecasts for tightening US crude oil stocks also added support to prices

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a group known as OPEC+, are set to boost output by 500,000 barrels per day in January. There is no sign yet of any wavering induced by the price drop

Brent crude was 50 cents, or 1%, higher at $52.00 at 1447 GMT, having reached $52.02, its highest since March. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 46 cents at $48.82 after touching $48.87, its highest since February

India Stock Market Highlights Today: ONGC followed by Tata Steel, L&T, Sun Pharma, M&M, ICICI Bank and NTPC were among the top gainers in the Sensex pack

Britain began vaccinations this week and they could start as soon as this weekend in the United States. Canada on Wednesday approved its first vaccine and said initial shots would be delivered starting next week

India Stock Market Highlights Today: UltraTech Cement followed by Tata Steel, ONGC, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, M&M, Infosys and Reliance Industries were among the top losers in the Sensex pack. On the other hand, Maruti, Nestle India, Titan and PowerGrid were among the gainers

The domestic unit opened at 73.83 against the US dollar at the interbank forex market and gained by 10 paise to touch a high of 73.80 over its previous close

The domestic unit opened at 73.81 per US dollar at the interbank forex market and gained 16 paise to 73.77 against the greenback over its previous close

India Stock Market Highlights Today: During the session, Sensex touched a lifetime high of 45,148 and Nifty hit an all-time high of 13,280

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and allies, a group known as OPEC+, had previously been expected to extend existing oil cuts of 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd), or 8% of global supplies, until at least March

OPEC+ sources have said Russia, Iraq, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates have all to a certain extent expressed interest in supplying the market with more oil in 2021

The domestic unit opened at 73.45 per US dollar at the interbank forex market and gained by 25 paise to touch a high of 73.43 over its previous close

India Stock Market Highlights Today: HDFC twins, Reliance Industries were among the top losers and Tata Steel, Titan and Asian Paints were among the top gainers

Reliance confirms buying stake in lingerie retailer Zivame; OPEC+ begin talks on whether to extend oil cuts or gradually increase output; the Indian economy rebounded strongly in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal as unlock process and various relief measures announced by the government helped address issues faced by the businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. Watch this and more news on News Blast.

Investor risk sentiment improved after positive macro-economic data released on the domestic front, while weakness of the US currency also supported the local unit