Oil prices have continued to rise this week, pushing back towards pre-pandemic levels and hitting 13-month highs: Brent crude surpassed $67 per barrel, while WTI crude pushed past $63 per barrel. The gains come due to a combination of factors including: the US Federal Reserve’s assurance that interest rates and inflation would remain low despite the weakening of the dollar – boosting investor appetite; a 10% reduction in US oil output due to severe winter storms in Texas shutting down production facilities, many of which will take weeks to recover; continued voluntary cuts in production from Saudi Arabia as well as those mandated by OPEC+; as well as the hope of demand increase as vaccines accelerate economic recovery from Covid-19.…