Investing.com – Crude oil futures erased gains on Tuesday, dropping to a three-day low following weaker-than-expected U.S. housing data, while mounting concerns over a possible U.S. sovereign debt default also weighed on prices.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD98.08 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, dropping 1.1%.
It earlier fell as much as 1.35% to trade at USD97.83 a barrel, the lowest price since July 21.
Earlier in the day, Standard & Poor with Case-Shiller said its U.S. house price index declined for the eleventh consecutive month in May, falling by 4.5%, outstripping expectations for a 4.4% decline.
It was the largest monthly decline since November 2009.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama said in an address from the White House late Monday that the current debt standoff was a “dangerous game” and warned that a failure to increase the U.S. borrowing limit would severely damage the economy.
In a speech following the President’s address, House Speaker John Boehner said the president wanted “a blank check” to continue spending.
Markets were also awaiting fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of oil demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show stockpiles declined by 1.75 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles were projected to rise by 0.1 million barrels.
U.S. oil supplies have declined in each of the past seven weeks, the longest run in nearly two years amid U.S. peak gasoline demand and the start of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Crude oil prices hovered close to USD100 a barrel earlier, as a broadly weaker U.S. dollar boosted the appeal of commodities.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery slumped 0.75% to trade at USD116.85 a barrel, up USD18.77 on its U.S. counterpart.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD98.08 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, dropping 1.1%.
It earlier fell as much as 1.35% to trade at USD97.83 a barrel, the lowest price since July 21.
Earlier in the day, Standard & Poor with Case-Shiller said its U.S. house price index declined for the eleventh consecutive month in May, falling by 4.5%, outstripping expectations for a 4.4% decline.
It was the largest monthly decline since November 2009.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama said in an address from the White House late Monday that the current debt standoff was a “dangerous game” and warned that a failure to increase the U.S. borrowing limit would severely damage the economy.
In a speech following the President’s address, House Speaker John Boehner said the president wanted “a blank check” to continue spending.
Markets were also awaiting fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of oil demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show stockpiles declined by 1.75 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles were projected to rise by 0.1 million barrels.
U.S. oil supplies have declined in each of the past seven weeks, the longest run in nearly two years amid U.S. peak gasoline demand and the start of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Crude oil prices hovered close to USD100 a barrel earlier, as a broadly weaker U.S. dollar boosted the appeal of commodities.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery slumped 0.75% to trade at USD116.85 a barrel, up USD18.77 on its U.S. counterpart.