LONDON—Oil prices held close to $80 a barrel on Wednesday as global supply outages and declining U.S. inventories offset worries that rising coronavirus cases might reduce demand. Brent crude rose to as much as $79.20 a barrel before retreating to trade 24 cents down on the day at $78.70 by 1427 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude edged 32 cents lower to $75.65 after touching $76.17. Both contracts are trading near their highest in a month, aided by strength in global equities. “Markets are overwhelmingly pricing in the latest coronavirus variant as a milder incarnation, despite its easier contractibility,” OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley said in a note. “With market activity much reduced for the holiday season, investors continue to tentatively price in a global recovery hitting a minor bump and not a pothole.” Weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later on Wednesday. Oil prices have …