IV:Crude oil futures inch lower ahead of U.S. inventory report
Investing.com - Crude oil futures edged lower on Wednesday, as market players looked ahead to the release of key U.S. weekly supply data to gauge the strength of oil demand from the world’s largest consumer.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD106.57 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.25%.
Nymex oil futures traded in a range between USD106.20 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD106.69 a barrel.
Oil futures were likely to find support at USD103.63 a barrel, the low from August 9 and resistance at USD107.23 a barrel, the high from August 6.
The September contract settled up 0.7% at USD106.83 a barrel on Tuesday after upbeat U.S. retail sales data fuelled optimism over the U.S. economy.
The Commerce Department said that retail sales rose for the fourth successive month in July, rising 0.2%, while core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose at the fastest pace in seven months, climbing 0.5%.
Oil traders now looked ahead to data from the U.S. government on oil and fuel supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world’s largest oil consumer.
The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles declined by 1.5 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories were forecast to fall by 0.8 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories fell by 1 million barrels last week, missing expectations for a decline of 1.5 million barrels.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery inched down 0.35% to trade at USD109.45 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD2.88 a barrel.
In the euro zone, preliminary data released Wednesday showed that France’s economy expanded 0.5% in the three months to June, following two consecutive quarters of contraction. Economists had forecast growth of 0.2% quarter-on-quarter.
A separate report showed that Germany’s economy expanded by 0.7% after growing 0.1% in the first quarter. Economists had forecast quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.6%.
Brussels was to release preliminary data on euro zone gross domestic product later in the trading day, amid expectations that the report would show a modest return to growth.
