WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday, falling for the second consecutive session, on concerns about the outlook for demand from China amid disappointment over a lack of fresh supportive measures from the Beijing government.
Weaker than expected U.S. factory orders data also raised concerns about energy demand.
Oil prices found some support from a widely expected extension of voluntary output cuts till the end of the second quarter by the OPEC+ producer group.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $0.59 at $78.15 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were down $0.74 at $82.06 a barrel a little while ago.
The Chinese government has set the targeted fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio at 3% this year, down from a revised 3.8% last year - suggesting that large fiscal stimulus is off the table for now.
Traders now await weekly oil reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The API's report is due later today, while EIA will release its inventory data Wednesday morning.
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