Investing.com - Crude futures slipped on Tuesday after a widely-watched U.S. factory gauge missed expectations, which stoked demand concerns in the world's largest consumer of oil.
In the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in August traded at $104.83 a barrel during U.S. trading, down 0.52%. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of $104.79 a barrel and a high of $106.08 a barrel.
The August contract settled down 0.35% at $105.37 a barrel on Monday.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $104.66 a barrel, Monday's low, and resistance at $107.50 a barrel, the high from June 25.
The Institute for Supply Management reported earlier that its purchasing managers' index fell to 55.3 in June from 55.4 in May. Analysts had expected the manufacturing PMI to increase to 55.8 in June.
Any reading over 50 marks expansion, which suggests the U.S. economy continues to recover, though concerns that the U.S. is awash in crude while recovery still faces headwinds gave oil prices room to fall on Tuesday.
Separately, the Commerce Department said construction spending rose 0.1% in May, below an expected 0.5% increase.
Meanwhile in China, the country's official purchasing managers' index came in a 51.0 in June, in line with expectations and up from 50.8 in May, which also painted a picture of an improving global economy that cushioned oil's losses.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for August delivery were down 0.26% and trading at US$112.07 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at US$7.24 a barrel.