By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Benchmark Nymex crude-oil futures extended declines in electronic trading Tuesday, as concerns about Europe’s debt crisis and the threat to the global economy resurfaced, driving investors out of riskier assets.
Crude for December delivery CL1Z -0.46% slipped to $97.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours, down from the contract’s Monday settlement at $98.14 in the regular session.
December Nymex crude had dropped 0.9% during the U.S. session. See report on Monday’s moves for oil.
The falls for oil came as a rise in Spanish and Italian bond yields triggered fresh concerns that Europe’s debt problems were deepening, prompting selling across equity and commodity markets.
A stronger dollar also weighed on crude, with the dollar index DXY +0.20% , which compares the U.S. unit with a basket of six rival currencies, rose to 77.577, from 77.488 in North American trade late Monday.
A higher greenback tends to discourage buying in dollar-priced commodities such as crude oil, as it makes them less affordable to holders of other currencies.
On the supply front, a weekly U.S. inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute trade group is due for release later Tuesday, followed by the more closely watched U.S. Energy Information Administration report on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Platts forecast a decline of 1.5 million barrels in commercial crude-oil inventories for the week ended Nov. 11.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
