Investing.com - Crude oil futures edged lower on Tuesday, as investors looked ahead to the release of 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 September traded at USD106.02 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.5%. Nymex oil prices held in a range between USD105.99 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD106.61 a barrel. The September contract settled down 0.35% at USD106.56 a barrel on Monday after strong U.S. manufacturing data saw investors reassess expectations on when the Federal Reserve may start to unwind its asset purchase program. The Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index rose to 56.0 from a three year low of 52.2 in June, as new orders jumped. The data help offset the latest U.S. jobs report which showed that the U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in July, less than the 184,000 increase forecast by economists. Investors have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases. Any improvement in the U.S. economy was likely to reinforce the view that the U.S. central bank will begin to taper its bond purchase program in the coming months. The Fed’s stimulus program is viewed by many investors as a key driver in boosting the price of commodities as it tends to depress the value of the dollar. 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 fell by 0.7 million barrels. Market players also awaited data scheduled for later in the week on China’s trade balance as well as a report on inflation and industrial production, amid ongoing concerns over the Asian nation’s economic outlook. China is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and manufacturing numbers are used as indicators for fuel demand growth. Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery inched down 0.4% to trade at USD108.30 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD2.28 a barrel. Brent futures came under pressure for a second day amid easing concerns over a disruption to supplies from Libya.

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