 the expectation that summer travel will come on in a strong way, upping energy demand, and what some analysts see as a slight tightening when it comes to global oil supplies. Based on front-mouth contract prices, the U.S. benchmark crude saw a rise of 2% on the week, with the NYMEX August crude contract ending at $83.16 a barrel. The global benchmark crude, Brent, saw a weekly gain of 1.8% to $86.54 a barrel.