By Virginia Harrison and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Oil futures rebounded in electronic trading Tuesday, as traders looked ahead to weekly U.S. supply data and economic releases such as housing data and consumer confidence.
Crude for November delivery CLX2 +0.39% added 60 cents, or 0.7%, to $92.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange during European trading hours.
The gains pared losses from Monday’s session, when European debt anxiety resurfaced, which helped push oil to a seven-week low.
A clash between European leaders over efforts to stem the region’s debt crisis and German data casting further doubt on the global economy drove the dollar higher against the euro, with that greenback strength weighing on all commodities.
In recent weeks, however, oil prices have enjoyed a risk rally boosted by monetary easing measures in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.
“In the medium to long term, the monetary policy measures announced by the central banks are likely to bring about higher prices,” analysts at Commerzbank said in a note.
At this level, though, the price appears to be stabilizing, they said and “until it decides which direction to take, the oil price is likely to continue to fluctuate with a sideways tendency that will depend on which factors happen to be more in focus.”
The gains for crude on Tuesday also came ahead of weekly U.S. supply data, when American Petroleum Institute is due to release its inventory report, followed by the more closely watched U.S. Energy Information Administration data on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Platts expect a 1.5-million-barrel increase in U.S. commercial crude for the week ended Sept. 21.
Last week, a larger-than-expected increase in supplies prompted a 3.5% drop in oil futures.
U.S. stock market futures pointed to a slightly firmer start for Wall Street. Data will be in focus with the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index for July due at 9 a.m. Eastern time and consumer confidence data for September expected at 10 a.m.
Elsewhere in the energy complex, October gasoline RBV2 +0.36% traded up 0.5% at $2.93 a gallon, October heating oil HOV2 +0.25% gained 0.3% to $3.11 a gallon. The contracts were due to expire at the end of floor trading on Friday.
October natural gas NGV12 +0.32% added 1 cent, or 0.4%, to $2.85 per million British thermal units. The contract was set to expire at the end of floor trading Wednesday.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
