Crude oil prices were little changed on Tuesday after hovering near two-month highs in the previous session.
It moved positively following expectations of increasing fuel demand over the summer and the possibility of a US interest rate cut that could boost economic growth.
Brent crude futures rose 28 cents to $86.88 a barrel after rising 1.9% in the previous session. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose 20 cents to $83.58 a barrel after rising 2.3% to the highest level since April 26.
The movement of oil prices does not seem to be confident enough to jump higher. The outlook for summer fuel demand remains high following the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and Typhoon Beryl currently hitting one of the key areas.
Demand for gasoline in the US, the world's largest oil consumer, is expected to increase ahead of this week's Independence Day holiday.
The American Automobile Association has predicted that travel during the holiday period will be 5.2% higher than in 2023 with car trips alone 4.8% higher than the previous year.
Meanwhile, markets see Hurricane Beryl's disruption to US oil refineries as a potential problem as the storm is likely to move into Mexico's Gulf of Campeche and limit oil output there.
The hurricane that hit the Caribbean islands as a category 4 storm on Monday prompted warnings from the US National Hurricane Center that the situation was extremely dangerous and potentially life-threatening.
In addition, signs of declining inflation in the US renewed hopes that the Federal Reserve (Fed) might cut interest rates this September.
Some data show that crude oil imports to Asia which is the largest consumption region in 2024 will be lower than last year.
This is due to lower imports into China, the world's largest oil importer and second largest consumer.
