(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil moved back to a 2-week low Tuesday morning as traders fret over demand growth after China said its manufacturing sector grew at a slower pace than estimated.
China's PMI fell from 51.2 to 50.4 in September, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said. Economists were expecting the index to rise to 51.8.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for December delivery, lost $2.58 to $90.61 a barrel. Yesterday, oil settled above $93, holding on to its last week's gains despite a steady U.S. dollar and falling equity markets.
This morning, the U.S. dollar continued to trade firm versus the euro and sterling. The buck was extending gains versus the Swiss franc, while trading flat against the yen.
In economic news from euro zone, the U.K. economy expanded at a faster than expected pace in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics said. Gross domestic product increased 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter, much faster than the 0.1 percent growth logged in the previous quarter. The sequential growth exceeded the 0.3 percent growth forecast.
Trader will look to the results of the manufacturing survey of the Institute for Supply Management will be out at 10 a.m. ET. Economists expect the index to show a reading of 52 for October following a 1-point increase in the previous month to 51.6.
Simultaneously, the Commerce Department will release its construction spending report, which is expected to increase 0.3 percent in September.
Today after the market hours, the API will release its U.S. crude oil inventories report for the week ended October 28. Analysts expect crude oil stocks to rise by 1.10 million last week.
