MOSCOW (IP) - The price of Brent crude rose above $62 per barrel for the first time since 24 January 2020, according to trading data.

Iran PressEurope: As of 16:34 GMT, the price of April futures for Brent rose by 1.67 percent to $62.16 per barrel, March futures for WTI oil were up by 1.48 percent to $59.1 per barrel.

Crude prices collapsed in 2020 when the OPEC+ agreement fell apart after its parties failed to negotiate an extension to cuts on oil output, causing an increase in oil supply which soon faced plunging demand, caused by the coronavirus infection spread.

Oil producers were forced to stockpile surplus amounts of oil that were no longer in demand, leading to storage reservoir shortages.

Global oil prices, however, began to climb amid COVID-19 vaccine optimism which defused investors' fears about the future demand.

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