Oil prices rose at the beginning of trading on Tuesday for the second consecutive day, as investors expected shrinking supplies in the market, a seasonal increase in demand for gasoline in the United States, and a decline in the production of OPEC+ countries.

Brent crude futures rose by (20) cents by (0.3%) to record (76.19) dollars a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude rose by (21) cents by (0.3%) to record (72.26) dollars a barrel.

Brent crude rose on Monday (0.5%), while West Texas crude rose (0.6%) after a rise of (2.8%) in gasoline futures in the United States ahead of the Memorial Day holiday on May 29, which marks the start of the peak summer fuel demand season.

The US Department of Energy said last week that it would buy three million barrels of crude oil to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Experts also expect that the voluntary production cut of the «OPEC +» group, which began on the first of May, will lead to a contraction of supply in the oil markets.