Oil futures shrugged off a broader market selloff, sustained by a growing belief that even an economic slowdown would fail to alleviate an ongoing supply crunch.
Key oil market gauges indicate that supplies are outstripping demand, overshadowing Saudi Arabia's pledges that OPEC+ will deliver on its planned production cuts.
Oil closed at its highest settling price this year as increasing tensions in the Middle East outweighed hotter-than-expected US inflation data that's damping the prospect of interest rate cuts.
Oil edged lower to settle below $81 a barrel after a stronger dollar curbed investor appetite for commodities, offsetting signs of a tighter global crude market.