WTI oil futures fall with U.S. supply data in focus

Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures edged lower on Tuesday, as market participants 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.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for August delivery dipped 27 cents, or 0.44%, to trade at $60.12 a barrel during European morning hours. A day earlier, Nymex oil tacked on 41 cents, or 0.68%, to end at $60.38.

The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 1.8 million barrels in the week ended June 19.

Worries over high domestic U.S. oil production, despite a declining rig count, have weighed on prices in recent weeks.

According to industry research group Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI), the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell by 4 last week to 631. The drop marks the 28th straight week of declines.

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 August delivery shed 5 cents, or 0.08%, to trade at $63.29 a barrel. On Monday, Brent futures rose 32 cents, or 0.51%, to close at $63.34.

The spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $3.17 a barrel, compared to $2.96 by close of trade on Monday.

Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor developments surrounding talks between Greece and its international creditors, amid hopes that a deal was within sight.

Euro zone finance ministers failed to reach agreement over Greece’s bailout at an emergency meeting on Monday, but indicated that a final deal could be made later this week.

Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said new reform proposals from the Greek government were “broad and comprehensive,” and a good basis to restart stalled negotiations.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde both warned that there was still a lot of work to be done.

Greece’s existing bailout is set to expire at the end of this month, when it must also repay €1.6 billion to the IMF. A default by Greece could trigger the country’s exit from the euro zone.