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

Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures pushed higher 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 tacked on 48 cents, or 0.81%, to trade at $60.48 a barrel during European morning hours. A day earlier, Nymex oil prices lost 40 cents, or 0.66%, to end at $60.00.

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 12.

According to industry research group Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI), the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell by 7 last week to 635. The drop marks the 27th straight week of declines.

Market players have been paying close attention to the shrinking rig count in recent months for signs it will eventually reduce the glut of crude flowing into the market.

U.S. oil futures received an additional boost from warnings that a tropical storm was heading towards the coast of Texas, a major oil-producing state.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for August delivery inched up 12 cents, or 0.19%, to trade at $64.07 a barrel. On Monday, Brent futures lost 69 cents, or 1.07%, to close at $63.95.

The spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $3.59 a barrel, compared to $3.95 by close of trade on Monday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 95.04 early on Tuesday, moving off Monday's highs of 95.66.

Investors were looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy statement on Wednesday for any fresh indications on when it may start to hike interest rates.

Recent economic reports have indicated that the U.S. economy was regaining strength after contracting in the first quarter, fuelling speculation that the U.S. central bank could raise rates as soon as September.

Market players also continued to monitor developments surrounding talks between Greece and its international creditors, amid growing concerns that the country could default on its debt be forced out of the euro zone.

Europe wants Greece to make spending cuts worth €2 billion in order to secure a deal that will unlock additional funds before its bailout expires at the end of June and it must repay €1.6 billion to the International Monetary Fund.