By Bryan Wong
Investing.com - Oil was down on Tuesday morning in Asia as an increase in production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) that kicked in this month continued to weigh on prices.
OPEC+ dialed back production cuts by 1.5 million barrels per day, adding that much to global supply. Brent oil futures were little changed, inching down 0.77% to $43.81 by 11:52 PM ET (4:52 AM GMT) and WTI futures also saw a modest 0.76% loss to $40.70.
“The way I see it, this is a very delicate, fragile balancing act and there’s this cloud of uncertainty overhanging all of it, on the pace of the recovery,” John Driscoll, chief strategist at JTD Energy Services told CNBC.
However, positive manufacturing data from two of the world’s largest oil consumers have capped losses.
The U.S.’s Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its manufacturing index rose to 54.2 last month, up from a June reading of 52.6.
Meanwhile in China, the Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) released on Monday also hit a four-month high of 52.8 in July, up from 51.2 in June, This cheered investors by suggesting an economic recovery could be under way that that could drive fuel demand back up.
Investors are now looking towards the American Petroleum Institute (API) crude oil data to be released tomorrow for further direction.