Oil prices gain as demand picks up with summer season

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Crude oil prices gained Friday to recover from losses over the previous days as global oil demand picks up with the start of the summer driving season, giving overall oil consumption a boost.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $41.34 per barrel at 0640 GMT for a 0.7% gain after ending Thursday at $41.05 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $38.96 a barrel at the same time for a 0.6% increase after closing the previous day at $38.72 per barrel.

The volume of vehicle traffic in the US, Europe and Asia has started to intensify with the summer driving season, according to news reports, giving overall consumption a boost in major economies on these continents.

Prices are regaining the more than 5% losses that were seen on Wednesday with swelling global demand due to the rise in gasoline and diesel consumption.

However, demand is still under pressure from the risks of a second wave of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

On the supply side, the rise in US crude oil production for the first time last week after thirteen consecutive weeks of decline has reignited worries over the glut of supply on the global oil market.

US crude oil production increased by 501,000 barrels per day (bpd) to approximately 11 million bpd for the week ending June 19, according to data released by the country's Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.

This marked the first weekly increase in US crude oil output since the week ending March 13, the EIA data showed.