NEW YORK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday as traders remained hopeful about solid demand recovery amid easing COVID-19 restrictions in the United States and Europe.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June delivery added 1.20 U.S. dollars, or 1.86 percent, to settle at 65.69 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for July delivery increased 1.32 dollars, or 1.95 percent, to close at 68.88 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

The moves came after an upbeat session on the oil market, which saw the U.S. crude futures and Brent rise 1.43 percent and 1.20 percent, respectively, on Monday.

"The positive sentiment on the financial markets is (also) likely to have played its part in this," Eugen Weinberg, energy analyst at Commerzbank Research, said in a note on Tuesday.

"Net long positions held by institutional investors in WTI increased by another 7,000 to nearly 345,000 contracts in the week to 27 April, which indicates that investors remain optimistic about the oil price," he said. Enditem

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