IV:Crude oil futures lower with U.S. demand outlook in focus
Investing.com - Crude oil futures were lower on Tuesday, as investors looked ahead to 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 June traded at USD95.47 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.7% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 0.9% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD95.27 a barrel.
Oil prices hit a five-week high of USD97.13 a barrel on Monday, amid hopes for a pickup in oil demand from the U.S. after official data showed that the economy added 165,000 jobs in April, above expectations for an increase of 145,000.
The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a four-month low of 7.5% from 7.6% in March.
Prices also drew support from fresh fears over a disruption to supplies from the Middle East amid growing tensions between Israel and Syria. The Middle East accounted for 33% of global crude output in 2011.
Oil traders now looked ahead to the release of fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of oil demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles rose by 1.8 million barrels to hit the highest level since 1982.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for June delivery shed 0.6% to trade at USD104.86 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD9.39 a barrel.
The gap between the two contracts narrowed to the lowest level since December 2011 last week, amid an improving production outlook in the North Sea and indications of declining stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex oil futures.
