SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil prices reversed early gains in Asia Tuesday, as investors shifted their focus to a possible global economic slowdown from the resolution of U.S. debt issues.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at $94.48 a barrel at 0707 GMT, down $0.41 in the Globex electronic session. September Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.33 to $116.48 a barrel.
Nymex rose to $95.45 a barrel in early trade after the House of Representatives passed a plan to raise the debt limit and trim federal deficits. The Senate is expected to approve the bill later in the day.
But the momentum proved to be unsustainable, as market players quickly refocused on a recent string of weak economic figures globally.
Slowing manufacturing activity in the euro zone, United Kingdom, U.S. and China raised fresh concerns about the prospects for global growth, painting a bleak picture for future oil demand, according to analysts.
The market will closely monitor U.S. economic readings this week, and the first tests are expected to come Wednesday when factory orders and payrolls data are released. Nymex is likely to fall towards $90 a barrel unless the market receives some bullish surprises, said Ritterbusch & Assoc. President Jim Ritterbusch.
Weekly petroleum inventory reports likely won't provide any lift, with a survey of Dow Jones Newswires showing crude stockpiles are expected to have risen by 1 million barrels last week.
The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its inventories report at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday while the American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade association, is due to release its figures at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
"Traders will try to find solace in this week's DOE statistics, but they might not find any," said consultancy Cameron Hanover in a note. "The picture is starting to become more bearish, with the economy looking quite weak."
Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for September--the benchmark gasoline contract--fell 114 points to $3.0426 a gallon, while September heating oil traded at $3.0884, 89.99999 points lower.
ICE gasoil for August changed hands at $968.25 a metric ton, down $2.50 from Monday's settlement.
-By Max Lin, Dow Jones Newswires; 65-6415-4063; max.lin@dowjones.com
