Oil rises on demand hopes

Crude oil futures edged up buoyed by healthy Asian appetite and demand from the US driving season.

Front-month Brent crude prices had gained 2 cents to $65.39 per barrel. US crude prices were up 14 cents at $59.86 a barrel.

Japan’s customs-cleared crude imports rose 9.1% to 3.62 million barrels per day in April from the same month a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said.

In China, crude imports hit a record 7.4 million bpd in April despite a slowing economy, driven largely by healthy car sales.

In the US, the peak summer driving season officially starts with Memorial Day, and the American Automobile Association said road travel was expected to reach a 10-year high over the Memorial Day weekend, suggesting strong fuel consumption.

In oil exporting Libya, warplanes from the official government attacked an oil tanker docked outside the city of Sirte, wounding three people and setting the ship on fire, officials said.

It was the third confirmed strike by the internationally recognised government on oil tankers, part of a conflict between competing administrations and parliaments allied to armed factions fighting for control of the country four years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.

Analysts said that steeper increases in oil prices were prevented by weak overall fundamentals.