Investing.com -- Crude futures wavered in choppy, volatile trade on Tuesday, ahead of the release of the American Petroleum Institute's weekly inventory report, as investors await for further signals on the glut of crude and refined product on the domestic market.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for August delivery traded between $45.47 and $46.38 a barrel before closing at $45.59, down $0.17 or 0.36% on the session. On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for September delivery wavered between $46.54 and $47.49 a barrel, before settling at $46.79, down $0.35 or 0.76% on the day. Both the U.S. and international benchmarks of crude are down approximately 5% over the last month, erasing all of their Post-Brexit gains.
Crude prices struggled to hold onto gains on Tuesday, as energy traders looked ahead to the API's crude stockpile report following the close of trading. Separately, Wednesday's government report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) could show a draw of 2.2 million barrels for the week ending on July 15. A week earlier, market players largely shrugged off a 2.5 million barrel decline, placing a greater focus on a 4.1 million barrel build in distillate fuel inventories.
Investors also continued to monitor developments in Turkey in the wake of last Friday's failed military coup. Since Turkey president Recep Erdogan regained control of the nation over the week, the Turkish government has reportedly detained more than 6,000 people in the widespread crackdown.
Oil price increases, though, failed to gain traction as expectations for considerable supply disruptions in the Persian Gulf failed to materialize. In 2015, Turkey imported more than 25 million tons of crude oil, approximately 45% of which came from Iraq. Other top producers such as Iran and Saudi Arabia accounted for roughly 32% of Turkish oil imports.
Elsewhere, oil received some pressure to the upside as workers in Eastern Libya continued to stage demonstrations protesting a series of unpaid wages. The protests forced Libya's Agoco company to bring approximately100,000 barrels per day offline at the Sarir oil field. On Monday, two shipments at the nearby Hariga port were halted due to the dispute.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, jumped more than 0.55% to an intra-day high of 97.18, as the Dollar surged more than 1% against the British Pound and more than 0.50% versus the euro. The index has still declined by approximately 3% since early-December.
Dollar denominated commodities such as crude become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.