WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil futures settled slightly down on Tuesday as investors looked for direction, closely following the developments on the geopolitical front, and awaiting weekly crude inventory.
Oil futures rebounded from lower levels past noon, but failed to hold gains and settled slightly down amid concerns about the outlook for global oil demand.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $0.10 at $78.38 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were down $0.06 at $83.27 a barrel a little while ago, easing from $83.73 a barrel.
Oil prices rebounded from early weakness as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided not to accept a cease-fire approved by Hamas, dismissing the proposal as 'sabotage.'
Hamas reportedly accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal to halt the seven-month war with Israel, but the latter said the deal didn't meet its 'core demand.'
According to a report from the Associated Press, the Israely military seized control of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
However, uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand, and a stronger dollar weighed on oil prices as the session progressed.
Markets await weekly oil reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The API report is due later today, while EIA is scheduled to release its inventory data Wednesday morning.
The EIA data last week showed a much larger than expected increase in crude inventories in the U.S. in the week ended April 26th. The data showed inventories jumped by 7.3 million barrels in the week, after tumbling by 6.4 million barrels a week earlier.
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