WTI, Brent rise after three-day decline

Here are today’s energy prices:

• West Texas Intermediate July contract: $78.04 a barrel, up 47 cents, or 0.6%. Year to date, US crude is up 8.9%.
• July Brent contract: $82.40 a barrel, up 50 cents or 0.6%. Year to date, the global benchmark is up around 7%.
• June RBOB gasoline contract: $2.49 per gallon, up 1.1%. Year to date, gasoline futures are up 18.6%.
• June natural gas contract: $2.79 per thousand cubic feet. Year to date, natural gas is up 11.3%.

Oil prices have been stuck in the $3 range since their April highs as fears of a wider war in the Middle East eased and traders refocused on underlying supply and demand.

Prices have struggled to break out this month as investors remain wary that higher interest rates for longer could slow the US economy and hurt oil demand, according to UBS commodities analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Traders are also concerned about a build-up in global oil inventories after a mild winter in parts of the northern hemisphere, Staunovo told clients in a note on Thursday.

However, UBS sees the oil market in a deficit and expects Brent to rise to $91 a barrel in the coming months. The bank also sees healthy demand growth of 1.5 million barrels per day in 2024, above the long-term growth rate of 1.2 million barrels per day.