WTI oil futures edge higher ahead of supply data

Investing.com - U.S. oil futures edged higher on Tuesday, as market players awaited key U.S. weekly supply data to gauge the strength of oil demand from the world’s largest consumer.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in March traded at USD96.15 a barrel during European morning trade, up 0.45%.

New York-traded oil futures held in a tight range between USD95.63 a barrel and USD96.17 a barrel.

WTI oil prices fell to USD95.21 a barrel on Monday, the lowest since January 22, before trimming losses to settle at USD95.72 a barrel, down 0.95%.

Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at USD95.12 a barrel, the low from January 22 and resistance at USD97.18 a barrel, the high from January 27.

The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles rose by 2.7 million barrels in the week ended January 24.

Markets were also turning their attention to U.S. durable goods data due out later in the session as well as what will be a closely watch report on consumer confidence to gauge the strength of the economy.

Investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated policy meeting due to begin later Tuesday, with some expecting the central bank to cut its bond buying program to USD65 billion from the current USD75 billion.

The Fed announced its first cut to the USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases in December, citing an improving economy.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for March delivery rose 0.5% to trade at USD107.25 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at USD11.10 a barrel.

The spread between the two contracts narrowed as the Keystone XL pipeline linking Cushing, Oklahoma, to the U.S. Gulf Coast began making deliveries last week.

Flows will rise over the course of the year toward its 700,000-barrel capacity, which should help alleviate a glut of crude in the Midwest.