IV:U.S. oil futures inch lower ahead of U.S. supply data
Investing.com - Crude oil futures inched lower on Tuesday, as market players awaited 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 January traded at USD93.55 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.15%.
New York-traded oil futures traded in a range between USD93.39 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD93.75 a barrel.
The January contract settled 0.86% lower on Monday to end at USD93.68 a barrel.
Oil futures were likely to find support at USD92.51 a barrel, the low from November 14 and resistance at USD95.22 a barrel, the high from November 12.
U.S. crude prices have been on a downward trend in recent weeks amid concerns the U.S. government shutdown created a drag on economic growth and eroded demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 388.1 million barrels as of last week, the highest since June.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles rose by 100,000 barrels.
Sentiment was also dampened amid ongoing uncertainty over the direction of U.S. monetary policy.
Investors are turning their attention to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s October meeting, as well as a speech by Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday for further indications on the future course of U.S. monetary policy.
New York Fed President William Dudley said Monday he was growing more hopeful that the economy is improving, and added that the fiscal uncertainties that acted as a drag on growth are likely to abate in the coming months.
However, he also added that stimulus would remain in place for a considerable amount of time.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery fell 0.4% to trade at USD108.04 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD14.49 a barrel.
Traders focused on a resumption of talks between Iran and major powers scheduled for November 20 in Geneva. Talks aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program and relaxing sanctions against the oil producer stalled earlier in the month.
Trade sanctions slapped on Iran due to its alleged nuclear ambitions have taken out more than one million barrels per day of oil from the global market.
London-traded Brent prices have been well-supported in recent sessions amid ongoing concerns over a disruption to supplies from Libya.
