Investing.com - Crude oil futures added to sharp losses during U.S. morning hours on Wednesday, falling to a two-week low after prices broke below a key support level, triggering a flurry of sell orders.
Traders now looked ahead to closely-watched weekly supply data on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products from the U.S. Energy Information Administration later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at USD95.17 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 1.5% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 1.6% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD95.06 a barrel, the weakest level since January 23.
Oil’s losses accelerated after breaking below a key technical support level close to the USD95.80-level, triggering automatic sell orders amid bearish chart signals.
Prices came under additional pressure as the U.S. dollar extended gains against the euro, as investors remained cautious ahead of the outcome of Thursday’s European Central Bank policy meeting.
Meanwhile, in Italy, uncertainty over the outcome of upcoming general elections mounted as former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gained further ground in opinion polls.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.4% to trade at 79.91, the highest level since January 29.
Dollar-denominated oil futures contracts tend to fall when the dollar rises, as this makes oil more expensive for buyers in other currencies.
Oil traders were now looking ahead to data from the U.S. government on oil and fuel supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world’s largest oil consumer.
The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles increased by 2.8 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories were forecast to fall by 0.04 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.63 million barrels last week, while gasoline stocks increased 1.56 million barrels.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil-consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for March delivery declined 0.55% to trade at USD115.88 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD20.71 a barrel, the widest since late-December.
The spread between the two contracts has grown amid renewed concerns over the glut of oil supply in storage at Cushing, Oklahoma, the trading hub for NYMEX oil.
Operators of the Seaway Pipeline said on January 31 that restrictions will limit flows on the key pipeline until late 2013. The pipeline began carrying crude to the Gulf Coast area from Cushing, last month after the flow direction was reversed.
Traders now looked ahead to closely-watched weekly supply data on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products from the U.S. Energy Information Administration later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at USD95.17 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 1.5% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 1.6% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD95.06 a barrel, the weakest level since January 23.
Oil’s losses accelerated after breaking below a key technical support level close to the USD95.80-level, triggering automatic sell orders amid bearish chart signals.
Prices came under additional pressure as the U.S. dollar extended gains against the euro, as investors remained cautious ahead of the outcome of Thursday’s European Central Bank policy meeting.
Meanwhile, in Italy, uncertainty over the outcome of upcoming general elections mounted as former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gained further ground in opinion polls.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.4% to trade at 79.91, the highest level since January 29.
Dollar-denominated oil futures contracts tend to fall when the dollar rises, as this makes oil more expensive for buyers in other currencies.
Oil traders were now looking ahead to data from the U.S. government on oil and fuel supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world’s largest oil consumer.
The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles increased by 2.8 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories were forecast to fall by 0.04 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.63 million barrels last week, while gasoline stocks increased 1.56 million barrels.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil-consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for March delivery declined 0.55% to trade at USD115.88 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD20.71 a barrel, the widest since late-December.
The spread between the two contracts has grown amid renewed concerns over the glut of oil supply in storage at Cushing, Oklahoma, the trading hub for NYMEX oil.
Operators of the Seaway Pipeline said on January 31 that restrictions will limit flows on the key pipeline until late 2013. The pipeline began carrying crude to the Gulf Coast area from Cushing, last month after the flow direction was reversed.