Crude oil prices continued upward trend on Tuesday as optimism about a strong rebound in fuel demand overshadowed growing concerns of a full lockdown in India, the second largest importer of oil. At 1330 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, was trading at $68.59 a barrel after gaining 1.52 percent. Likewise, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 1.43 percent to reach $65.41 a barrel. The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $65.42 a barrel with 0.44 percent decrease, Arab Light was available at $67.25 a barrel with 2.55 percent increase while price of Russian Sokol increased 2.32 percent to reach $67.01 a barrel. Recently, some investment banks have predicted that crude oil prices could hit $80-$85 in the second half of this year, as Europe, and many other regions, emerge out of lockdowns and as intercontinental aviation starts to pick up gain. Furthermore, the Biden Administration’s COVID recovery agenda and ongoing concerns of an inflation bubble may support this price outlook as the US Federal Reserve maintains its policy of near-zero interest rates. It is worth noting that crude markets are more driven by optimism than by fundamentals.