Crude oil was paring recent gains Tuesday morning on profit taking even as traders access tensions in the Middle-East.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for June delivery, shed $0.42 to $95.74 a barrel. Yesterday, oil settled higher on supply concerns with focus on developments in Syria after Israeli airstrikes last weekend heightened tensions in the Middle-East. Nonetheless, the gains were capped as investors weighed the more than expected U.S. crude oil stockpiles reported last week. Oil prices were also boosted by increased energy demand prospects after some better than expected jobs data out of the U.S. last week and the European Central Bank cutting interest rates to a record low.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was paring its previous session's gains versus the euro, while lingering near a three-month low versus sterling. The buck was steady around its 4-year high versus the yen and advancing toward a two-week high against the Swiss franc.
In economic news from the euro zone, Germany's manufacturing orders increased from the previous month in March, defying economists' forecast for a modest decline, latest data showed. New orders received by German manufacturers increased a seasonally adjusted 2.2 percent sequentially in March, as they did in the previous month, preliminary data from the the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology said. Economists had forecast orders to fall by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, France's industrial production decreased at a faster rate than expected by economists in March, latest data showed. Industrial production decreased 2.5 percent on an annual basis in March, statistical office Insee said. The rate of fall was notably faster than 1.4 percent economists had forecast. In February, output had fallen by 2.9 percent.
Today after the market hours, the API will release its US crude oil inventories report for the weekended May 03.
