Investing.com - Oil prices pushed lower in European trade on Tuesday, adding to overnight losses on signs that supply disruptions in Canada and Africa are coming to an end.
Authorities in Canada lifted evacuation orders on Monday for all work camps and some additional oil facilities that had been shuttered when a massive wildfire threatened the nation's energy hub, a significant step for companies eager to restart production.
Elsewhere, improving oil exports from Libya further weighed. The state-run National Oil Company said over the weekend that a 660,000 barrel cargo had sailed from the eastern port of Marsa al-Hariga after political unrest shuttered the key port for more than two weeks.
Oil futures have been well-supported in recent weeks due to a combination of Nigerian, Libyan and Venezuelan supply outages, as well as reduced production of Canadian crude as a result of fires in Alberta's oil sands region. However, as some of the supply disruptions are subsiding, traders are putting their focus back on the growth of global oil supply.
Media reports saying that Iran plans to increase oil export capacity to 2.2 million barrels by the summer and has no intentions to freeze its level of oil production at the upcoming OPEC meeting also contributed to the bearish sentiment.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for July delivery slipped 41 cents, or 0.85%, to $47.94 a barrel by 08:01GMT, or 4:01AM ET. A day earlier, London-traded Brent futures shed 37 cents, or 0.76%.
Brent futures prices are up by roughly 85% since briefly dropping below $30 a barrel in mid-February, despite the collapse of talks at a Doha summit in April aimed at achieving a production freeze among OPEC and Non-OPEC producers. OPEC meets on June 2 in Vienna and may discuss the freeze initiative again.
Elsewhere, crude oil for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 36 cents, or 0.75%, to trade at $47.72 a barrel. On Monday, New York-traded oil futures lost 33 cents, or 0.68%.
Nymex oil prices are up nearly 80% since falling to 13-year lows at $26.05 on February 11 as declining U.S. shale output boosted sentiment. However, with prices now at levels that make drilling economical for some firms, the oil rig count might start rising soon and the decline in U.S. production may slow.
Oilfield services provider Baker Hughes said late Friday the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. was unchanged at 318 in the latest reporting week, after eight straight weeks of declines.
Market players looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products. The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fall by 2.5 million barrels in the week ended May 20.
Meanwhile, Brent's premium to the WTI crude contract stood at 22 cents a barrel, compared to a gap of 27 cents by close of trade on Monday.