Investing.com - Crude oil futures inched higher on Tuesday, one day after recording their biggest single-day decline in more than three months, as the continuation of Greek and Iranian negotiations, as well as concerns in China remained in focus.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for August delivery tacked on 22 cents, or 0.38%, to trade at $57.38 a barrel during European morning hours. A day earlier, London-traded Brent plunged $3.78, or 6.27%, to close at a three-month low of $56.54.
Elsewhere, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for August delivery inched up 13 cents, or 0.27%, to trade at $53.14 a barrel. On Monday, New York-traded oil prices tumbled $4.40, or 7.73%, to end at $52.53, the weakest level since April 10.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $4.24 a barrel, compared to $4.01 by close of trade on Monday.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was to present new proposals to euro zone finance ministers later in the day, ahead of a meeting of European leaders to discuss the aftermath of Sunday’s referendum in Greece.
Greek banks were set to remain closed on Tuesday after capital controls were extended until Wednesday, amid concerns that lenders are close to running out of cash.
The European Central Bank announced Monday that it would keep its emergency liquidity assistance to Greece unchanged at levels announced last Monday. The ECB also said it will adjust the haircuts on collateral accepted by the Bank of Greece as part of the ELA, adding to pressure on Athens.
Oil traders were also eyeing nuclear talks between the West and Iran, which could push millions of barrels of crude into the oversupplied world market.
Tehran wants to double oil exports to more than two million barrels a day if a deal is reached and sanctions are lifted, a top Iranian official said Monday.
Global oil production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil production and after a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year not to cut production.
Meanwhile, shares in China resumed their decline despite efforts by the government to calm the market. The Shanghai Composite tumbled nearly 3% in volatile trade on Tuesday. The index is down almost 32% over the past three weeks.
Policymakers in Beijing announced the suspension of initial public offerings over the weekend and corralled its leading brokerages to establish a RMB120 billion fund to support the country's battered stock market.
Investors are concerned that the recent plunge in the stock market could spread to other parts of the economy, triggering fears that China’s demand for the industrial metal will decline.
Market players also looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of 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 0.5 million barrels in the week ended July 3.
U.S. oil futures plunged last week after Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) reported that the number of domestic rigs drilling for oil rose by 12 to 640 last week, snapping 29 straight weeks of declines.