Crude prices rose above 71 U.S. dollars a barrel on Monday after profit-taking in the early trading.

Crude prices declined below 70 dollars a barrel Monday morning as investors locked profit after last week's rally.

However, the prices rebounded on concern about gasoline supplies and demand for crude as the United States is entering peak summer driving season between the July 4 and Labor Day holidays.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose 42 cents to 71.10 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

August Brent crude futures rose 1.09 dollars to 72.50 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Crude prices rose above 70 dollars a barrel for the first time in 10 months on Friday on reports of two unexploded bombs in London.

Last week, Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported that gasoline inventories dropped 700,000 barrels in the week ended June 22.