SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday, as optimism grew over the fuel demand outlook during the summer driving season of the United States.
Brent crude futures rose 97 cents to $70.30 a barrel by 0641 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $67.72 per barrel, up $1.40.
“While there are concerns over tighter COVID-19 related restrictions across parts of Asia, the market appears to be more focused on the positive demand story from the U.S. and parts of Europe,” Reuters cited analysts from ING Economics as saying.
“In the U.S., the summer driving season officially got underway following the Memorial Day weekend, and we have entered this period with gasoline inventories already trending lower, and not too far from a 5-year low for this time of the year.”
Tracking from GasBuddy said Sunday’s U.S. gasoline demand jumped 9.6% above the average of the previous four Sundays, the highest Sunday demand since the summer of 2019, according to Reuters.
Prices were also boosted after data from China showed that factory activity expanded at its fastest this year in May.
