The US crude ended slightly higher on Tuesday. On concerns that oil production cuts might not be sufficient, Brent ended lower. With worldwide easing restrictions on movement put in place to stop the pandemic spread, demand picks up, causing oil to rally for several days.
Up 2.1 percent, the front-month contract for US West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $32.50 a barrel. At $31.96 a barrel, the July contract settled up 31 cents. Settled at $34.65 a barrel, benchmark Brent crude was down 16 cents (0.5 percent).
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell faced sharp questions at a Senate hearing, the market weakened early after that. However, the market got another boost after Mnuchin said he was willing to consider extending a payroll loan program for small businesses.
