Oil prices hit a three-week high on Tuesday, extending last week's rally, as dealers anticipated that strong fuel demand over the U.S. summer driving season would eat into stockpiles, Reutetrs reported . U.S. July crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled up 12 cents to $51.97 a barrel after hitting $52.05, the highest since May 10. London Brent rose 3 cents to settle at $50.73 on the International Petroleum Exchange, REUTERS reported. "Some locals and speculators were looking for buy stops in the attempt to test the $52 high from last week," said Marshall Steeves, an analyst at Refco Group in New York. The strength added to last week's nearly 11 percent rally in U.S. oil prices on a government report showing an unexpected decline in crude inventories as refiners boosted production rates to meet demand. The decline in inventories pulled stocks down from a 6-year high and left analysts expecting further drawdowns in the coming months as demand picks up. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's next report will be released Thursday morning, a day later than normal due to the U.S. Memorial Day holiday on Monday. --More 2321 Local Time 2021 GMT
