UPDATE 5-Oil prices rise, touch 9-month high on U.S. stimulus progress

* Washington moves toward more pandemic relief spending
* U.S. crude stockpiles fall, fuel inventories up -EIA
* U.S. vaccine campaign grows

(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments;
new byline, changes dateline, previous LONDON/SINGAPORE)
By Jessica Resnick-Ault
NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Oil climbed on Thursday and
touched a nine-month high, with traders optimistic about
progress toward a U.S. fiscal stimulus deal and strong Asian
demand.
Record-breaking refining demand in China and India lent
further strength to the market.
U.S. lawmakers edged closer to agreement on a $900 billion
virus-relief spending package on Wednesday. The U.S. dollar set a 2-1/2 year low against major rivals on
Thursday which also helped oil because crude priced in the
greenback becomes cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures were up 34 cents at $51.42 a
barrel by 12:38 p.m. EST (1638 GMT), and touched a session high
of $51.90.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose
by 45 cents to $48.27 a barrel, with a session high of $48.59.
Both benchmarks hit their highest since early March.
"Asia was ahead of the curve in recovery mode from the
Coronavirus," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures
in Chicago. "Looking at what we're seeing in Asia is raising
expectations that in the New Year we will see a rapid increase
in crude oil demand, as the vaccine rolls out in the U.S.," he
said.
The United States on Thursday expanded its campaign to
deliver COVID-19 vaccine shots. U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels in the
week to Dec. 11, the Energy Information Administration said, far
more than analysts' expectations of a 1.9-million-barrel drop.
EIA/S
"It seems to be a much better festive season than most
bullish traders could expect for. But whether oil prices can
remain as high and keep these gains is still questionable amid
the demand destruction lockdowns are causing," said Bjornar
Tonhaugen at Rystad Energy.