Investing.com - Oil futures declined slightly in Wednesday’s Asian session after posting a solid gain data-driven gain during Tuesday’s U.S. session.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for March delivery fell 0.08% to USD96.60 per barrel after rising 0.71% to settle at USD96.72 a barrel during Tuesday’s U.S. session.
Crude was boosted by some positive economic news out of Germany and then the U.S. On Tuesday, the ZEW Centre for Economic Research reported that its index of German economic sentiment improved to 31.5 in January from 6.9 the previous month, far surpassing expectations for a rise to 12.0.
Another report showed that the ZEW index of eurozone economic sentiment jumped to 31.2 this month from 7.6 in December, compared with expectations for a reading of 14.0.
In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors said home sales fell 1% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million units. Economists expected a gain of 5.1 million units on a seasonally adjusted basis. The inventory of existing homes for sale fell 8.5% to 1.82 million units in November.
The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer, and as the Eurozone’s largest economy, Germany is one of that region’s top oil users. Even with the slight pullback in Wednesday’s Asian session, oil is still flirting with four-month highs.
Elsewhere, the U.S. state of Colorado said its 2012 output of oil touched a 50-year high at 40 million barrels for the year. Texas-based independent oil and gas producer Apache (NYSE: APA) said it will shut in its Stag and Van Gogh oil fields off the Australia Northwestern coast due to tropical storm that is passing through the area.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures for March delivery slipped 0.08% to USD112.28 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for March delivery fell 0.08% to USD96.60 per barrel after rising 0.71% to settle at USD96.72 a barrel during Tuesday’s U.S. session.
Crude was boosted by some positive economic news out of Germany and then the U.S. On Tuesday, the ZEW Centre for Economic Research reported that its index of German economic sentiment improved to 31.5 in January from 6.9 the previous month, far surpassing expectations for a rise to 12.0.
Another report showed that the ZEW index of eurozone economic sentiment jumped to 31.2 this month from 7.6 in December, compared with expectations for a reading of 14.0.
In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors said home sales fell 1% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million units. Economists expected a gain of 5.1 million units on a seasonally adjusted basis. The inventory of existing homes for sale fell 8.5% to 1.82 million units in November.
The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer, and as the Eurozone’s largest economy, Germany is one of that region’s top oil users. Even with the slight pullback in Wednesday’s Asian session, oil is still flirting with four-month highs.
Elsewhere, the U.S. state of Colorado said its 2012 output of oil touched a 50-year high at 40 million barrels for the year. Texas-based independent oil and gas producer Apache (NYSE: APA) said it will shut in its Stag and Van Gogh oil fields off the Australia Northwestern coast due to tropical storm that is passing through the area.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures for March delivery slipped 0.08% to USD112.28 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.