Brent crude rose from $47.00/bbl to $52.00/bbl, as confidence grew with the rollout of coronavirus vaccinations, however the price dropped to $50.00/bbl after the emergence of a new strain of covid-19.

GBP fluctuated between 1.31 and 1.36 against USD in December, as a lack of consistency and a stop/start approach to the EU/UK Brexit trade negotiations caused GBP to remain volatile throughout the month.

EIA US crude inventory figures have fluctuated over December, starting from a reduction in US crude stocks of 700k barrels to a build of 15m barrels a week, later dropping once again by more than 3 million.