Investing.com - Oil prices moved off nine-month lows on Tuesday, brushing off weak Chinese import data and Friday's soft U.S. jobs report on hopes weekly supply data will reflect solid demand in the world's largest consumer of crude.
In the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in October traded up 0.29% at $92.93 a barrel during U.S. trading. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of $92.53 a barrel and a high of $93.94 a barrel.
The October contract settled down 0.68% at $92.66 a barrel on Monday.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $91.24 a barrel, the low from Jan. 9, and resistance at $93.62 a barrel, Monday's high.
Oil prices took a hit on Monday after data revealed China's imports dropped in August when markets were expecting them to expand, while Friday's disappointing jobs report in the U.S. also dampened demand for the growth-sensitive commodity.
While the U.S. economy continues to improve, fears the hiccups here and there coupled with concerns that global supply remains ample have sent oil prices tumbling in the past three sessions.
By Tuesday, investor bet that a global supply glut has been now priced into trading, which allowed crude prices to rise ahead of weekly U.S. supply data.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 5.
Gains were limited due to ongoing expectations U.S. interest rates to rise sooner rather than later, which bolstered the dollar.
Oil prices typically weaken when the U.S. currency strengthens as the dollar-priced commodity becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Separately, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for October delivery were down 0.81% at US$99.39 a barrel, while the spread between Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at US$6.46 a barrel.