By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures rose on Tuesday after slightly better-than-expected growth data from Germany and France.
Oil for September delivery CLU2 +0.53% rose 53 cents, or 0.6%, to $93.26 a barrel. The commodity fell 14 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $92.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.
Geopolitical tensions and ensuing supply worries drove oil up during Monday’s session, with traders mulling news reports that hinted to a possible escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran.
But oil stepped back midway through the U.S. trading day as Wall Street stocks also ran out of steam. Analysts say the two markets have been closely correlated.
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a higher open Tuesday, with sentiment boosted by growth data from France and Germany that was slightly better than expected. That data also lifted European stock markets. Read: Germany can’t stave off euro-zone recession
Data from the U.S. was also on tap, with July retail sales and producer prices due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Among other contracts, natural gas for September delivery NGU2 +1.17% rose 2 cents, or 0.7%, to $2.75 per British thermal units.
September gasoline futures RBU2 +0.20% were flat at $2.99 a gallon. September heating oil HOU2 +0.64% rose 1 cent, or 0.5%, to $3.03 a gallon.
Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.
