Crude oil futures ticked slightly higher during mid-morning trade in Asia Aug. 3 as investors sought to take advantage of lower prices following an overnight plunge, with a weaker US dollar providing further impetus to buy. At 10:43 am Singapore time (0243 GMT), the ICE October Brent futures contract was up 9 cents/b (0.12%) from the previous close at $72.98/b, while the NYMEX September light sweet crude contract was 13 cents/b (0.18%) higher at $71.39/b. The front-month ICE Brent and NYMEX light sweet crude markers had fallen 3.34% and 3.63% respectively on Aug. 2, as coronavirus fears tightened their grip on the market. An increase in COVID-19 infections in several countries, driven by the highly transmissible delta variant, has brought back the specter of tighter and protracted lockdowns. The market was rattled by outbreaks in […]