Oil prices rose on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session, on expectations that fuel demand will begin to recover as some U.S. states and nations in Europe and Asia start to ease coronavirus lockdown measures.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose as much as 8.2% to a three-week high of $22.06 per barrel and were up 6.5%, or $1.33, at $21.72 at 0454 GMT, Reuters said.
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The U.S. benchmark is on a five-day win streak that started on April 29.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures hit a high of $28.57 a barrel and were up 4.8%, or $1.31, at $28.51. Brent is up for a sixth straight day.
Prospects improved for fuel demand as some U.S. states and several countries, including Italy, Spain, Portugal, India and Thailand, began allowing some people to go back to work and opened up construction sites, parks and libraries.
Reflecting hope that the oil industry may have passed the worst point of coronavirus-induced lockdowns, hedge funds and money managers were buyers of petroleum derivatives for a fifth straight week to the week ended on April 28.
Still, global oil demand probably collapsed by as much as 30% in April, analysts have said, and the recovery is likely to be slow, especially with airlines expected to remain largely grounded for months to come.
