Spot crude prices experienced firm gains in the month of May, rising on average about 6% month-on-month (m-o-m), settling at multi-month highs, amid stronger physical oil market fundamentals. Refiners in most regions showed increases in buying interest on the expectation of a further oil demand recovery with the approach of the summer driving season. The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) increased by $3.67, or 5.8%, m-o-m in May to average $66.61/b, the highest since May 2019. Year-to-date, the ORB was up 56.8%, averaging $62.16/b, compared to $39.65/b on average over the first five months of 2020. Crude oil futures prices ... (full story)