Oil extends gains, closes at highest level in a week

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices extended their gains on Tuesday to reach their highest levels in a week, as the dollar weakened and markets absorbed the geopolitical calm in the Middle East, which led gains over the past few weeks.

At settlement, Brent crude scheduled for delivery in June, rose by 1.65%, or $1.42, to $88.42 a barrel, after hitting the lowest close since March 27 in yesterday's session.

Meanwhile, the price of futures for US WTI crude, scheduled for delivery in June, rose by 1.8% or $1.46 to $83.36 a barrel, after touching $80.88 earlier in the session.

The dollar index, which measures its value against a basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.35% to 105.68 points, as of 10:36 PM KSA Time.

Investors are awaiting late today data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) on US oil inventories, while official data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due tomorrow, amid expectations of an increase in crude inventories for the fifth consecutive week.