Oil closes positive on higher summer demand hopes; Brent exceeds $86

Oil drilling rigs

Oil futures prices rose today, June 24, driven by the expectations of a strong demand in the summer. Meanwhile, the tensions in the Middle East and drone attacks on Russian refineries raised concerns about supplies.

Brent crude futures for August delivery rose 0.9%, or 77 cents, to close at $86.01 per barrel.

WTI crude for August delivery (the most active contract) climbed 1.1%, or 90 cents, to record $81.63 per barrel.

The main reason behind the rise in prices is the growing confidence that global oil inventories will inevitably decline during the summer in the northern hemisphere, said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM, according to a Reuters report.

According to Vortexa data, California and Washington are scheduled to import about 150,000 barrels per day of Canadian crude in June—an increase by seven times the average volumes—and imports of Iraqi Basra Heavy crude are expected to decline to 3,587 barrels per day from 76,000 barrels in May.