The price of crude oil futures climbed a bit on Monday as demand from Asia and the US edged up as well.

Brent crude surged by 2 cents a barrel to $65.39 at 03:12 GMT. US crude showed a steeper climb, leaving it a bit below Brent crude, at $59.86 per barrel.

Energy Aspects, a London-based publication which discusses  the energy markets, commented on the increased price of oil:

“Global oil demand continues to surprise to the upside, with April data showing no signs of slowdown despite a pick-up in prices.”

Japan’s Ministry of Finance said that crude oil imports to Japan increased by 9.1 percent to 3.62 million barrels per day in April, compared to one year earlier. China hit a new record of crude imports, reaching 7.4 million barrels per day in April. That surge is despite China’s slowing economy which is offset by vigorous car sales.

“We expect Chinese imports to be high in H2 15, potentially averaging 7.5 million barrels per day. This is due to the start-up of 39 mb (million barrels) of commercial storage, five SPR (strategic petroleum reserve) sites and linefill for Kunming refinery—buying for which is ongoing we believe, even though the refinery won’t start up till early 2016,” Energy Aspects said.

On the other side of the globe the United States is now entering its peak season for driving with the Memorial Day weekend just coming to an end. According to the American Automobile Association, road travel in the US is expected to reach a ten-year high over the weekend, tightly correlated with higher oil use.