Crude Oil Ends Higher Ahead Of Supply Data, Weak Dollar

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil snapped a four-day loss to end higher on Tuesday, as the dollar trended lower against some major currencies and ahead of the official weekly oil report from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.

The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day for the week ended July 17.

However, the gains were limited on continued concerns of a supply glut after the deal between Iran and the West to limit Tehran's nuclear program. The deal pressured oil prices, as an end to sanctions means even more oil coming online.

Oil prices have been down sharply this week as the dollar jumped to a three-month high, denting most commodities.

Meanwhile, industry research group Baker Hughes Inc. said the number of rigs actively drilling for oil in the U.S. dropped by seven units to 638 rigs last week, after rising for two consecutive weeks.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for August delivery, gained $0.21 or 0.4 percent, to settle at $50.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

Crude prices for August delivery scaled a high of $51.02 a barrel intraday and a low of $49.77.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for September delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $0.42 or 0.8 percent, to settle at $50.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

Crude prices for September delivery scaled a high of $51.41 a barrel intraday and a low of $50.08.

On Monday, crude oil prices fell 0.74 or 1.5 percent, to settle at $50.15 a barrel, as fears of a global supply glut continued to grip markets after Iran's deal with the West on limiting its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions. This was the lowest settlement since early April.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 97.31 on Tuesday, down from its previous close of 98.05 in late North American trade on Monday. The dollar scaled a high of 98.15 intraday and a low of 97.14.

The euro trended higher against the dollar at $1.0943 on Tuesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.0826 in North American trade late Monday. The euro scaled a high of $1.0969 intraday and a low of $1.0812.

On the economic front, U.K. public sector net borrowing decreased in June from last year, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. Excluding public sector banks, PSNB dropped GBP 0.8 billion to GBP 9.4 billion in June. It was equivalent to 0.5 percent of gross domestic product.

Foreign direct investment in China grew 0.7 percent in June from a year ago to $14.6 billion, the Chinese Commerce Ministry reported Tuesday. In the first six months, FDI climbed 8.3 percent from last year to $68.4 billion. Investment in manufacturing, however, dropped 8.4 percent.

The leading index for Japan, which measures the future economic activity, dropped as estimated in May, final figures from the Cabinet Office showed Tuesday. The index dropped to 106.2 in May from 106.4 in the previous month. This was in line with the preliminary data. In March, the score was 105.2.