Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures fell sharply on Tuesday, as 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.
Crude oil for delivery in December on the New York Mercantile Exchange slumped $1.08, or 2.46%, to trade at $42.90 a barrel during European morning hours after hitting an intraday low of $42.60, a level not seen since August 28.
A day earlier, Nymex crude prices declined 62 cents, or 1.39%, as oversupply concerns remained a factor for oil markets.
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.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for December delivery shed 92 cents, or 1.92%, to trade at $46.62 a barrel. It earlier fell to $46.42, the lowest since September 14.
On Monday, 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.
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 $3.72 by close of trade on Monday.