Ramla SoniBrent crude futures for May rose $1.24, or 1.9. per cent, to $65.66 per barrel by 0718 GMT. The April contract expired on Friday.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.18, or 1.9 per cent, to $62.68 a barrel.
The US House passed a $1.9trn (€1.5trn, £1.3trn) coronavirus relief package over the weekend, rising investors’ risk appetite and Asian stock markets. The package will now move to the US Senate for further deliberation.
Meanwhile, manufacturing data from top Asian oil importers were mixed. China’s factory activity growth fell to a nine-month low in February, while manufacturing in Japan expanded the fastest in more than two years.
Crude supplies going into top importer China are expected to ease in the second quarter, as the rise in oil prices dampened demand. Preliminary data also showed that South Korea’s February imports were down 14.7 per cent from a year earlier.
OPEC+, will meet on Thursday this week and could discuss allowing as much as 1.5 million barrels per day of crude back in the market.
At the same time, in currencies, the Australian dollar and other riskier currencies rebounded against the US dollar.
Early today, the Australian dollar rose 0.5 per cent to $0.7743 following a 2.1 per cent plunge last week, whilst the New Zealand dollar strengthened 0.46 per cent to $0.7259.
The dollar index rose 0.26 per cent to 91.02 after posting its biggest surge since June on Friday.
The euro fell 0.12 per cent to $1.2056, after plunging 0.9 per cent at the end of last week, the most since April.
The British pound saw additional support in hopes of a faster economic recovery led by the country's Covid-19 vaccination programme. Sterling rose 0.17 per cent to $1.3945.
Resurgent risk appetite led the Japanese yen to a six-month low versus the dollar.
Against the yen, the dollar hit a six-month high of 106.70.
In cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin rose four per cent to $47,069 but was still off a record high of $58,354.14 hit on February 21.
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