Crude oil futures extended their gains for yet another session and ended higher on Wednesday with notable gains, lifting the most active crude oil futures contracts to their highest settlement in about two months, after a positive report about the outlook for energy demand. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that world oil demand would average 96.4 million bbl/day this year, up from 91 million bbl/day last year. Data showing a drop in crude stockpiles in the week ended May 7 also contributed to oil's advance. Data released by Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed U.S. oil stockpiles dropped by less than expected last week. The data said crude oil inventories fell by 427,000 barrels last week versus expectations for a draw of about 2.82 million barrels.
Crude oil futures for June surged $0.80 or 1.2 percent to settle at $66.08 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. July Brent crude rose $0.50 or 0.73 percent to settle at $69.05 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.