Oil futures gained ground yesterday after the markets learned that fuel demand is rising in the United States despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brent crude oil futures rose by 2.30% during the session, closing at the 70.63 level. Similarly, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures gained 2.72% and closed the session at the 68.29 level.
According to data reported by the Energy Information Administration, US gasoline consumption is expected to be about 8.8 million barrels per day by the end of the current year, an increase from last year's 8 million barrels per day. Despite the advances, gasoline consumption levels are below the 2019 level and are expected to remain so next year.
The Saudi Arabian oil producer Aramco, which is the biggest oil producer in the world, announced that its profits soared about 300% due to the recovery of demand and the 30% increase in oil prices since the beginning of the year.
"Our second-quarter results reflect a strong rebound in worldwide energy demand and we are heading into the second half of 2021 more resilient and more flexible, as the global recovery gains momentum," commented Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser.
Aramco joined other oil producers that made important gains during the second quarter, such as Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell. This is because governments have been lifting restrictions and economies are opening up, which has boosted oil demand and the price of oil.
Despite this, the COVID-19 pandemic continues advancing all over the world in the form of a Delta variant, which is believed to be more transmissible than other strains. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 204,800,030 COVID-19 cases have been reported across the world, including 4,327,154 deaths.
The most affected country is the United States, one of the largets oil consumers in the world, with 36,892,215 cases and 634,662 total deaths, followed by India, Brazil and Russia.
The massive global vaccination campaign also continues to advance. So far, about 4.48 billion vaccine doses have been distributed among the global population, with 1.22 billion individuals now fully vaccinated, which account for 15.7% of the global population. Some countries’ citizens are still resisting vaccination despite increasingly coercive efforts by their governments.
By 6:21 GMT, Brent crude oil futures rose by 0.30% to the 70.85 level, followed by West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures, which gained 0.22% and hit the 68.45 level.