Investing.com - Crude futures edged lower on Tuesday on fears this week's U.S. supply report will come in bearish, while uncertainty over the fate of Ukraine and Gaza in Israel allowing for choppy trading.
In the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in September traded down 0.41% at $102.44 a barrel during U.S. trading. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of $102.14 a barrel and a high of $103.38 a barrel.
The September contract settled up 0.89% at $102.86 a barrel on Monday.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $101.48 a barrel, Monday's low, and resistance at $103.38 a barrel, the session high.
Markets tracked events unfolding in Ukraine and in Gaza, with investors looking for fresh signs to indicate whether geopolitical tensions in will threaten Russian and Middle East oil exports, and the uncertainty allowed for choppy trading at times on Tuesday.
In afternoon trading, prices fell on concerns Wednesday's U.S. supply report will reveal the U.S. is awash in crude, though upbeat U.S. data cushioned losses.
The Labor Department reported earlier that the U.S. consumer price index rose 2.1% in June, unchanged from the previous month and in line with forecasts, which drew applause in energy markets by fueling hopes that a more upbeat U.S. economy will demand more fuel and energy going forward.
On a month-over-month basis, U.S. consumer prices were up 0.3% after a 0.4% increase in May, also in line with expectations.
June's core inflation rate, which excludes food and energy costs, rose by 0.1% from May and 1.9% on year, slightly below market calls for 0.2% and 2.0% readings, which revealed that gasoline prices drove the headline rate.
Elsewhere, the National Association of Realtors reported earlier that existing U.S. home sales rose 2.6% to 5.04 million units in June from 4.91 million in May, beating market forecasts for a 2.0% rise to 4.97 million units.
Separately, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for September delivery were down 0.39% and trading at US$107.26 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at US$4.82 a barrel.