Oil prices continued to rally on Wednesday on signs of strong fuel demand in western economies, while the prospect of Iranian supplies returning faded as the U.S. secretary of state said sanctions against Tehran were unlikely to be lifted.
Brent crude futures were up 32 cents, or 0.3%, at $72.42 a barrel at 0911 GMT, having earlier touched $72.83, the highest since May 20, 2019. Brent rose 1% on Tuesday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $70.23 a barrel, after rising to as high as $70.62, highest since Oct. 17, 2018. WTI prices climbed 1.2% on Tuesday.
“The widespread faith that oil demand growth will trend significantly higher in the second half of the year is paving the way forward for the price rally,” PVM analysts said.
