Oil Close To Hitting $70 As The U.S. And Europe Reopen

Brent oil prices were less than 50 cents away from hitting $70 per barrel early on Wednesday amid market optimism that reopening the United States and Europe would accelerate the economies, travel, and oil demand this summer. As of 9:45 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, ahead of the weekly EIA report on U.S. oil inventories, Brent Crude prices had risen by 1 percent to $69.58. The U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, was also up—trading above $66 per barrel, at $66.29, up by 0.94 percent on the day.  Oil prices settled on Tuesday at their highest level in…