Investing.com - Oil prices attempted to bounce back from five-month lows on Tuesday, with U.S. crude wavering between gains and losses in early-morning trade.
Investors struggled to decide between the opposing forces of economic fear and hopes that OPEC-led production cuts can overcome increases in U.S. supply and balance the market.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 9 cents, or 0.2%, at $51.77 a barrel by 9:42 AM ET (13:42 GMT), while Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., traded up 25 cents, or 0.4%, to $60.88.
Both barrels hit their lowest levels since mid-January a day earlier as the Energy Information Administration reported a surge in U.S. crude stockpiles, while output rose to a record 12.4 million barrels per day.
Surging production in the U.S. added to fears that trade disputes would damage oil demand, counteracting sanctions on Iran and Venezuela and efforts by OPEC and its allies to lower supply.
“Right now, markets are obsessed with economic indicators that might mean an impending recession,” Ellen Wald, president of Transversal Consulting and an Investing.com contributor, said.
She cited the uncertainty of a potential solution to the trade dispute between the U.S. and China as a major factor for recent bearish pressure on oil prices.
“This month’s OPEC meeting could push prices down further,” Wald added, pointing to an extension of the current agreement as the most likely of three possible outcomes. Despite some discussion of a possible delay into early July, OPEC is still officially scheduled to meet on June 25 with non-member allies joining the following day.
In other energy trading, gasoline futures dropped 0.4% at $1.6857 a gallon by 9:45 AM ET (13:45 GMT), while heating oil traded down 0.4% at $1.7723 a gallon.
Lastly, natural gas futures lost 0.3% at $2.370 per million British thermal unit.