Oil rises amid US pandemic relief package updates

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, with the US House of Representatives voting to raise pandemic relief payments and amid global updates on coronavirus.

The House of Representatives voted to increase relief payments to $2,000 from $600, but the Senate still needs to vote on the measure.

Investors also expect OPEC+ to boost output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in January. The groupd is scheduled to meet on Jan. 4, 2021.

In terms of trading, Brent crude was up 0.7% at $51.2 per barrel, at 9 am Makkah time.

The US West Texas Intermediate rose 0.7% to $47.96 a barrel.