U. S. crude oil futures ended higher on Monday as robust home sales spurred fresh hopes for improved oil demand, and that outweighed earnings uncertainties that kept Wall Street see-sawing all day. NYMEX natural gas futures, pressured by mild Midwest weather and concerns about record high storage and weak industrial demand, lost ground midday Monday, but firmer physical prices helped limit the downside.

Vietnam said on Tuesday its estimated crude oil output in July would jump 18.5 percent from the same period last year to 1.44 million tonnes, or about 340,000 barrels per day.

A poll of analysts ahead of weekly inventory data due over the next two days showed expectations for a small drawdown in crude and gasoline stocks and an increase in distillates supplies, which include heating oil and diesel fuel.

A Shell pipeline spilled 1,400 barrels of crude oil into the U. S. Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana on Monday, the U. S. Coast Guard reported.

AccuWeather. com expects temperatures in the Northeast, a key gas consuming region, to average slightly above normal this week, while the Midwest, another big gas user, will see below seasonal readings for the period.

The focus will be on API inventory tonight and we feel crude oil prices would be able to breach $70/per barrel. We recommend booking profits at the level of $70 per barrel.