U.S. oil futures settle at their highest in more than 2 years

Oil futures settled higher on Tuesday, with U.S. prices back above the $75 mark -- at their highest in over two years. Traders also looked ahead to official U.S. data due Wednesday that are expected to show an eighth-straight weekly decline in domestic crude inventories. "Oil market uncertainties have risen considerably" from a month ago when U.S. prices first topped $70 a barrel, said Tyler Richey, co-editor at Sevens Report Research. The resurgence of COVID cases is "weighing on the outlook for global consumer demand." On the supply side, OPEC+'s "failure to agree to new output targets earlier this month is resulting fears that the entire agreement could fall apart and trigger a new fight for market share among global producers," he said. Against that backdrop, West Texas Intermediate oil for August delivery CLQ21, +1.50% climbed by $1.15, or nearly 1.6%, to settle at $75.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the highest front-month contract finish since October 2018, according to FactSet data.