Investing.com - Oil futures fell to two-month lows on Tuesday, as ongoing concerns about a global supply glut continued to dampen sentiment on the commodity.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for December delivery shed 16 cents, or 0.34%, to trade at $47.38 a barrel during European morning hours. It earlier fell to $47.05, the lowest since October 2.
A day earlier, Brent futures lost 45 cents, or 0.94%, as ongoing worries over the health of the global economy fueled concerns that a global supply glut may stick around for longer than anticipated.
Elsewhere, crude oil for delivery in December on the New York Mercantile Exchange slumped 32 cents, or 0.72%, to trade at $43.67 a barrel after hitting an intraday low of $43.34, a level not seen since September 2.
On Monday, Nymex crude prices declined 62 cents, or 1.39%, as oversupply concerns remained a factor for oil markets.
Market players 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 rose by 3.0 million barrels in the week ended October 23.
The oil market has been volatile in recent months amid uncertainty about how quickly the global glut of crude is set to shrink. Despite this tighter outlook for North America, output remains robust in other countries.
According to industry research group Baker Hughes (N:BHI), the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. decreased by one last week to 594, the eighth straight weekly decline.
However, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf OPEC members have indicated in recent months that they will continue to stick to their policy of defending market share by keeping production high.
Oil prices have lost nearly 60% since last summer as lingering concerns over a glut in world markets drove down prices.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $3.71 a barrel, compared to $3.56 by close of trade on Monday.