By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch)—U.S. crude-oil futures lost ground Tuesday as traders awaited the release of weekly inventory data later in the day.
Nymex crude-oil futures for April delivery CLJ2 -0.56% fell 97 cents to $107.12 a barrel in electronic trade. Futures ended Monday’s session at their highest level in more than two weeks, boosted by optimism over the global economic outlook and a weaker dollar.
The dollar index DXY +0.27% , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of major rivals, rose 0.3% on Tuesday to 79.708, recovering from Monday’s decline. A stronger dollar can result in pressure on dollar-denominated commodities such as oil and metals.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, said Monday it would work alone and in cooperation with other producers to ensure adequate global supplies of crude oil, market stability and fair prices, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Traders on Tuesday will be watching for weekly reports from the American Petroleum Institute followed by more closely watched U.S. Energy Information Administration data on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Platts forecast a 2.1 million barrel build in U.S. commercial crude inventories for the week ended March 16.
William L. Watts is MarketWatch's European bureau chief, based in Frankfurt.
