22.07.202119:10:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle Higher For 3rd Straight Day

Crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, gaining for a third successive day, even as traders continued to remain concerned about the outlook for energy demand due to the rise in coronavirus cases.

Oil prices continued to rise despite recent data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing a jump in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended July 17.

Reports showing strong gasoline demand and a rebound in distillate fuels supported the uptick in oil prices.

Gasoline stockpiles dropped by 100,000 barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles declined by about 1.3 million barrels.

The EIA report also showed a drop in crude stockpiles at the storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, to the lowest level in about seven months.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for September ended up by $1.61 or about 2.3% at $71.91 a barrel.

Crude oil prices had tumbled by over 7% on Monday.