US benchmark oil prices rise toward its highest since February, up 1.6% at $47.30 a barrel as a long-awaited coronavirus vaccine is shipped out to all 50 states. The first of almost 3 million shots will go to health care workers and nursing homes, a move that could sharply reduce the virus’s spread, strengthen the economy and lead to greater demand for oil. “The market upward trend is likely to reemerge as the vaccine and stimulus hopes enhance positive market action,” says Peter Cardillo at Spartan Capital. Reports of attacks on an oil tanker off the coast of a Saudi Arabia port city are adding an additional risk premium to crude prices