Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures traded near a four-week low on Tuesday, as market players assessed demand prospects from the U.S. and the supply outlook in the Middle East.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in August dipped 0.11%, or 12 cents, to trade at $103.42 a barrel during European morning hours. Futures held in a range between $103.35 and $103.57 a barrel.
New York-traded oil futures were likely to find support at $103.12 a barrel, the low from June 10 and resistance at $105.53 a barrel, the high from July 2.
Market players awaited key U.S. weekly supply data 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 fell by 2.7 million barrels in the week ended July 4.
Investors also looked ahead to Wednesdays’ minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting, after robust nonfarm payrolls data released last week revived speculation over when the central bank may start to raise interest rates.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for August delivery shed 0.48%, or 53 cents, to trade at $109.71 a barrel, the lowest since June 11, as worries over potential supply disruptions in the Middle East continued to subside.
Libyan rebels agreed to open two of its ports for oil exports last week. The Es Sider and Ras Lanuf terminals have a capacity to export up to 560,000 barrels of oil a day, nearly half of the country's oil exports.
Ongoing indications that Iraqi oil exports from the southern part of the country remained insulated from the sectarian violence that has swept the north in recent weeks also weighed.
Futures rallied to nine-month highs amid fears that an insurgency in northern Iraq would spread to the oil-rich south and disrupt the nation's oil production.