Investing.com - U.S. oil futures fell to a one-week low on Tuesday, as disappointing U.S. consumer confidence data underlined concerns over the strength of the economy.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in April fell to a session low of $101.03 a barrel, the weakest since February 18.
Nymex oil prices last traded at $101.24 a barrel during U.S. morning hours, down 1.55%.
The April contract rallied to $103.45 a barrel on Monday, the most since October 10, before trimming gains to settle at $102.82 a barrel, up 0.61%.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $100.30 a barrel, the low from February 18 and resistance at $103.45 a barrel, the high from February 24.
The Conference Board, a market research group said that its index of consumer confidence declined to 78.1 this month from a downwardly revised reading of 79.4 in January. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 80.0 in February.
The disappointing data added to the view that the U.S. economic recovery has lost momentum since the end of last year as inclement winter weather weighed on growth.
Meanwhile, investors looked ahead to weekly supply data out of the U.S. to gauge the strength of oil demand from the world’s largest consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles rose by 1.4 million barrels in the week ended February 21.
The data was also expected to show that distillate stockpiles, including heating oil and diesel, decreased by 1.5 million barrels, as frigid weather conditions in the U.S. Northeast boosted demand for oil products, such as heating fuel.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for April delivery fell 0.65% to trade at $109.94 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at $8.70 a barrel.