US urges OPEC+ to pump more

The White House said in a statement that the Biden administration had urged OPEC and its partners to boost production, CNBC earlier reported the development.

According to the report, current production was not enough and could threaten the global economic recovery.

Earlier, crude was trading above $70 as signs of rising fuel demand in the United States offset concerns about travel curbs in Asia caused by the COVID-19 Delta variant.

Industry data showed U.S. crude and gasoline inventories fell last week, while the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said U.S. job growth and increasing mobility had boosted gasoline consumption so far this year.

"The EIA's upbeat demand forecasts for this year helped alleviate fears of a deteriorating near-term outlook," said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM.

The Delta variant has been detected in more than a dozen Chinese cities since the first cases there were found in July, prompting some new travel restrictions, while U.S. cases and hospitalisations have soared to six-month highs.