Investing.com – Crude oil futures were down on Wednesday, pulling back from a six-week high as some mild-profit taking emerged after Tuesday’s sharp gains, while mounting fears over the euro zone’s debt crisis also weighed.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at USD89.22 a barrel during European morning trade, retreating 1.1%.
It earlier fell as much as 1.4% to trade at a daily low of USD88.53 a barrel.
Crude prices jumped nearly 2.3% on Tuesday to hit USD90.50 a barrel, the highest since August 4 as expectations for a large U.S. supply drop and a weaker U.S. dollar boosted prices.
However, the rally prompted some investors to sell their position and lock in gains ahead of the release of the U.S. Energy Department’s weekly report on crude and gasoline supplies later in the day.
The data was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell by 3.0 million barrels, while gasoline supplies were forecast to drop by 0.5 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories fell by 5.05 million barrels in the week ended September 9.
However, total gasoline supplies rose by 2.76 million barrels to 212.7 million, painting a mixed picture of U.S. energy demand.
Meanwhile, concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis intensified after ratings agency Moody’s downgraded the credit ratings of two of France’s three largest banks, citing their exposure to Greek debt.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.24% to trade at 77.78.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery shed 0.23% to trade at USD109.23 a barrel, up USD20.01 a barrel on its U.S. counterpart.
Deutsche Bank said in a report late Tuesday that Brent prices were likely to come under pressure in the short-term, citing global economic uncertainty and the prospects for a pickup in Libyan oil exports.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at USD89.22 a barrel during European morning trade, retreating 1.1%.
It earlier fell as much as 1.4% to trade at a daily low of USD88.53 a barrel.
Crude prices jumped nearly 2.3% on Tuesday to hit USD90.50 a barrel, the highest since August 4 as expectations for a large U.S. supply drop and a weaker U.S. dollar boosted prices.
However, the rally prompted some investors to sell their position and lock in gains ahead of the release of the U.S. Energy Department’s weekly report on crude and gasoline supplies later in the day.
The data was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell by 3.0 million barrels, while gasoline supplies were forecast to drop by 0.5 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories fell by 5.05 million barrels in the week ended September 9.
However, total gasoline supplies rose by 2.76 million barrels to 212.7 million, painting a mixed picture of U.S. energy demand.
Meanwhile, concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis intensified after ratings agency Moody’s downgraded the credit ratings of two of France’s three largest banks, citing their exposure to Greek debt.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.24% to trade at 77.78.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery shed 0.23% to trade at USD109.23 a barrel, up USD20.01 a barrel on its U.S. counterpart.
Deutsche Bank said in a report late Tuesday that Brent prices were likely to come under pressure in the short-term, citing global economic uncertainty and the prospects for a pickup in Libyan oil exports.