The price of crude oil was recovering from its recent losses Tuesday morning, with the US dollar trading flat versus a basket of currencies amid uncertainty overt the release of this week's macroeconomic data out of the world's largest economy.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for November delivery, added $0.80 to $103.83 a barrel. Yesterday, oil settled lower as supply disruption concerns eased with most producers in the U.S. Gulf coast keying up to production, even as the tropical storm passed with little or no damage to rigs in the region. The continued stand-off in the U.S. over the budget continued with fears the partial shutdown could last for an extended period and as well as the upcoming debt ceiling talks also weighed on investor sentiments.
This morning the U.S. dollar was lingering around its nine-month low versus the euro and sterling, while trading around its 2-month low against the yen and flat versus the Swiss franc.
In economic news from the euro zone, Germany's overall exports recovered in August from July, while the growth in imports increased marginally, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. Exports advanced 1 percent month-on-month, offsetting July's 0.8 percent fall. Meanwhile, imports rose 0.4 percent, slightly faster than the 0.3 percent increase seen in July.
Meanwhile, German factory orders declined unexpectedly in August due to a fall in foreign demand, official data showed. Data from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology revealed a 0.3 percent month-on-month drop in factory orders. It was forecast to expand by 1.1 percent in August. Nonetheless, the rate of decline slowed from the 1.9 percent drop seen in July.
Today after the market hours, the API will release its US crude oil inventories report for the weekended October 04.
