Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Crude oil settles at 3-week lows on downbeat data

Published 08/15/2017, 02:41 PM
Updated 08/15/2017, 02:41 PM
© Reuters.  Crude oil struggled to pare losses on Tuesday

© Reuters. Crude oil struggled to pare losses on Tuesday

Investing.com – Crude futures settled lower on Tuesday, as data showing weaker-than-expected oil demand in China continued to weigh on sentiment while concerns remained Opec may struggle to tackle the glut in supply, following a drop in compliance with the deal to curb production.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for September delivery fell 4 cents to settle at $47.55 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent gained $0.12 cents to trade at $50.85 a barrel.

Crude futures started the session on the back foot falling to three-week lows, following data on Monday showing Chinese oil refineries in July operated at their slowest rates in nearly twelve months.

The downbeat data fuelled concerns that a glut of refined fuel products could lessen demand for oil from China, the world’s second-largest consumer, reducing the prospect of oil inventories falling below the five-year average.

Meanwhile, an announcement by the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell that it had lifted a force majeure on Bonny Light crude exports, also added to oversupply jitters.

Crude futures attempted to pare losses in the late afternoon U.S. session, as investors looked ahead to bullish U.S. crude inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday as well as a further report from EIA on Wednesday.

Analysts forecast crude inventories fell by 3m barrels in the week ended Aug 11, the seventh-straight week of declines.

An uptick in U.S. shale production, however, is expected to curb sentiment on oil prices, after the EIA said Monday it expected to see a climb in crude output from key U.S. shale regions of 117,000 barrels per day (bdp) in September to 6.149 million bpd.

“While global inventories have managed to decline in recent months, the threat of U.S. shale has meant inventory draws have found difficulty providing significant price support,” said Robbie Fraser, commodity analyst at Schneider Electric (PA:SCHN).

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.