Investing.com - U.S. oil futures reversed earlier losses to bounce off a 15-week low on Tuesday, as traders looked ahead to weekly data on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for September delivery hit a session low of $50.10 a barrel, a level not seen since April 4, before recovering to trade at $50.83 during U.S. morning hours, up 39 cents, or 0.77%.
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 fell by 2.2 million barrels in the week ended July 17.
A day earlier, Nymex oil futures lost 77 cents, or 1.5%, to end at $50.44 as ongoing worries over ample supplies and high domestic oil production drove prices down.
According to industry research group Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI), the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. declined by seven last week to 638, snapping two weeks of gains.
However, U.S. oil production has held around 9.6 million barrels a day, the highest level since the early 1970s.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for September delivery tacked on 23 cents, or 0.41%, to trade at $56.88 a barrel.
On Monday, London-traded Brent futures slumped to $56.33, the lowest since July 7, before closing at $56.65, down 45 cents, or 0.79%, amid concerns a resumption of Iranian oil exports will add to a global glut.
Iran and six world powers reached a long-awaited nuclear deal last week that would end sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on the country's disputed nuclear program.
Iran reportedly hoards 30 million barrels of oil in its reserves ready for export. However, analysts largely estimate that Iranian crude exports could take several months to ramp up significantly.
Global oil production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil production and after a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year not to cut production.
The spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $6.05 a barrel, compared to $6.21 by close of trade on Monday.