Investing.com - Brent oil futures fell to a four-week low on Tuesday, as worries over potential supply disruptions in the Middle East continued to subside.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for August delivery hit a session low of $109.42 a barrel, the weakest level since June 12, before trimming losses to last trade at $109.56 during U.S. morning hours, down 0.62%, or 69 cents.
Ongoing indications that Iraqi oil exports from the southern part of the country remained insulated from the sectarian violence that has swept the north in recent weeks also weighed.
Meanwhile, Libyan rebels agreed to open two of its ports for oil exports last week. The Es Sider and Ras Lanuf terminals have a capacity to export up to 560,000 barrels of oil a day, nearly half of the country's oil exports.
Elsewhere, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in August dipped 0.01%, or 1 cent, to trade at $103.52 a barrel. Nymex oil futures hit a daily low of $103.23 earlier, the cheapest level since June 9.
Market players awaited key U.S. weekly supply data to gauge the strength of oil demand from the world’s largest 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 2.7 million barrels in the week ended July 4.
Investors also looked ahead to Wednesdays’ minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting, after robust nonfarm payrolls data released last week revived speculation over when the central bank may start to raise interest rates.