MUSCAT: The official price of Omani oil yesterday, July 2, for next September delivery reached $86.79 per barrel. It witnessed an increase of $1.23 compared to Monday with $85.56 per barrel.
The monthly average price of Omani crude oil for delivery in July reached $83.89 per barrel, down $5.41 cents compared to the price for delivery last June.
Meanwhile, international oil prices climbed nearly 1% on Tuesday, extending gains to two-month highs on Tuesday on expectations of rising demand during the summer driving season and possible supply disruptions from Hurricane Beryl.
Brent crude futures rose 75 cents, or 0.87%, to $87.29 a barrel by 1314 GMT, their highest since April 30. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 84 cents, or 1.01%, at $84.10 after touching its highest since April 26.
Both benchmarks gained about 2% in the previous session.
US gasoline demand is expected to ramp up as the summer travel season picks up with the Independence Day holiday this week. The American Automobile Association has forecast that travel during the holiday period will be 5.2% higher than in 2023, with car travel up 4.8%.
Also supporting oil prices is a rising risk premium linked to Middle East tensions and signs of subsiding inflation in the United States, rekindling hopes of interest rate cuts.
Markets are also watching for possible disruption to US refining and offshore production after Hurricane Beryl strengthened on Monday into a "potentially catastrophic" category 5 storm as it moved across the eastern Caribbean.
"A dangerous hurricane in the Caribbean Sea is expected to hit Mexico, intensifying concerns regarding the supply side of the equation," said Charalampos Pissouros, senior investment analyst at brokerage XM, adding that recent US data supports the market view that the Federal Reserve is likely to proceed with two quarter-point cuts to interest rates this year. — ONA/Reuters
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