Crude oil futures end higher on Tuesday as data showing a surge in fuel demand in India in the month of July pushed up prices. In India, fuel consumption, a proxy for oil demand, totaled 16.83 million tons in July, up 2.9% from June and 7.9% from the same period a year ago as most restrictions were eased. Besides, traders were also hopeful that energy demand in the US and Europe will rise significantly in the coming weeks. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a monthly forecast that gasoline consumption in the country is expected to average 8.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2021, up from 8 million bpd in 2020. The trend of rising employment and mobility is expected to continue into next year, leading to gasoline consumption averaging almost 9 million bpd in 2022.
Crude oil futures for September rose $1.81 or 2.7 percent to settle $68.29 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. October Brent crude surged $1.82 or 2.6 percent to settle at $70.86 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.