NEW YORK--Oil futures ticked higher Tuesday as positive euro-zone economic data weakened the dollar, but another expected increase in U.S. oil supplies kept a lid on prices.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery recently traded up 29 cents, or 0.3%, at $99.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on ICE Futures Europe rose 13 cents, or 0.1%, to $107.85 a barrel.
The euro zone's composite purchasing managers index rose to 54 in April, reaching its highest level since May 2011. Retail sales also rose for the third straight month.
The data strengthened the euro, and the dollar fell against multiple major currencies. Because oil is traded in dollars, a weaker dollar makes oil more affordable to buyers using foreign currencies.
Improved economic growth could also indicate stronger demand for oil products in the euro zone, which includes several of the top oil-consuming nations.
"There's some brightness to the European economy this morning that's helping to translate into these higher oil prices," said John Kilduff, founding partner of Again Capital in New York.
However, the upbeat euro-zone data was offset Tuesday by a lower forecast for global growth from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In a report released Tuesday, the OECD cut its forecast for global growth this year to 2.2%, down from a forecast of 2.3% in a November report.
Expectations that U.S. crude-oil inventories, already at record highs, would continue to rise also weighed on the market. U.S. oil stocks stood at 399.4 million barrels as of April 25, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The agency is due to release its storage data for the week ended May 2 on Wednesday. Though analysts are still finalizing their forecasts, many expect another stockpile build to be reported. Oil production is booming, and demand for crude oil is typically lower in the spring as refineries undergo seasonal maintenance.
Front-month June reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, recently rose 1.06 cents, or 0.4%, to $2.9198 a gallon. June diesel rose 0.34 cent, or 0.1%, to $2.9098 a gallon.
