Oil prices rose 3 percent on Monday, settling higher for a second straight day, after polls showing a lower likelihood of Britain leaving the European Union while US gasoline surged 5 percent in anticipation of peak summer driving demand. Data from market intelligence firm Genscape pointing to a drawdown of 568,213 barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery base for US crude futures in the week to June 17 was also supportive, said traders who saw the numbers.
US gasoline futures jumped 5 percent, their most in six weeks, as the rally in crude oil extended to refined oil products. Traders cited speculative buying in gasoline ahead of the July 4 Independence Day weekend when summer driving usually hits a high in the United States. "Demand has been very strong year-over-year for gasoline and coupled with the peak driving season just ahead of us, we got a strong bid today that should continue in the short term," said Chris Jarvis, analyst at Caprock Risk Management in Frederick, Maryland.
Crude oil futures rose after three opinion polls ahead of Thursday's vote on Britain's future in the EU showed the 'Remain' camp recovering some momentum, although the overall picture was of an evenly split electorate. Traders said Britain's exit, or "Brexit," could cause economic turmoil to Europe and beyond. Brent crude futures' front-month contract, August, settled up $1.48, or 3 percent, at $50.65 a barrel. The contract has risen 7 percent since Thursday's settlement, after falling 10 percent in six previous sessions.
The British pound climbed 2.3 percent to $1.4685 against the dollar. A weaker dollar makes commodities denominated in the greenback more attractive for other currency holders. US crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained $1.39, or 2.9 percent, at $49.37 a barrel for the July front-month. But the contract, which expires on Tuesday, was barely traded, transacting a tenth of average daily volume. Investors flocked instead to August WTI, the new front-month from Wednesday, which settled up 3 percent at $49.96. Analysts said oil prices should stay firm as long as a Brexit looked unlikely, although a strong rally may be difficult absent more supply outages like those out of Nigeria and Canada that boosted the market to the 11-month highs of over $50 earlier this month.