Crude oil futures ended sharply higher on Thursday amid optimism about the strong outlook for energy demand. Despite concerns that oil demand could falter in the near term due to the surge in the delta variant of the coronavirus cases and travel curbs in several countries, Street expects demand to pick up during the later part of the year. Further, the advance came ahead of a meeting among Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC partners, an energy alliance often referred to as OPEC+, who have been positive about improved market conditions and the outlook for fuel demand growth following a sharp rebound in oil prices this year. OPEC+ meeting has been postponed to Friday.
Crude oil futures for August rose $1.76 or about 2.4 percent to settle at $75.23 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September Brent crude surged $1.50 or 2 percent to settle at $76.10 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.