Investing.com - Crude oil futures fell amid profit taking in Asian trading on Wednesday after climbing on fears that a standoff between the West and Iran over the latter's nuclear ambitions is heating up anew.
Talk that central banks are set to juice the global economy via easing measures sent oil up earlier as well before it fell early in Asian trading.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD87.34 a barrel on Tuesday, down 0.36%, off from a session high of USD87.76 and up from an earlier session low of USD87.31.
Iran earlier said it successfully tested medium-range missiles capable of striking targets in Israel, which rattled nerves.
The announcement rekindled tensions from earlier this year, when the West slapped sanctions against the country on grounds Tehran is developing weapons-grade nuclear materials, a charge Iran denies.
Part of those sanctions included a European ban on Iranian crude imports, which took full effect July 1
Iran agreed to talks with delegates from the U.S., U.K., China, France, and Russia and Germany to negotiate a way out of the crisis, which had kept prices at bay up to now.
A cooling global economy has pushed oil prices down, but talk the Federal Reserve and other central banks may roll out monetary stimulus measures to reheat global output pushed up oil higher before early-session profit-taking.
Monetary stimulus measures tend to send oil prices climbing as they involve injecting liquidity into the financial system, which ends up in commodities markets.
In the U.S. earlier this week, the Institute for Supply Management reported that its index of manufacturing activity fell to 49.7 in June from 53.5 in May.
A reading below 50.0 indicates industry contraction.
June's figure was the lowest reading since July 2009 and well below analyst forecasts for the index to slip down to 52.0.
Official data softened the blow.
The U.S. government reported that U.S. factory orders increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in May, above expectations for a 0.2% gain.
Meanwhile in China, the HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index, which focuses on small and medium-sized companies, fell to 48.2 in June from 48.4 in May.
In Europe, jobs data further pointed to a cooling economy that would need less oil.
The eurozone unemployment rate rose to a record high 11.1% in May from 11.0% in April.
The European Central Bank and the Bank of England will hold monetary policy meetings later this week, and hopes are building for stimulus measures.
On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its June jobs report, and expectations that the number may disappoint further fueled expectations for monetary intervention.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery were down 0.50% and trading at USD100.09 a barrel, up USD12.75 from its U.S. counterpart.
Talk that central banks are set to juice the global economy via easing measures sent oil up earlier as well before it fell early in Asian trading.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD87.34 a barrel on Tuesday, down 0.36%, off from a session high of USD87.76 and up from an earlier session low of USD87.31.
Iran earlier said it successfully tested medium-range missiles capable of striking targets in Israel, which rattled nerves.
The announcement rekindled tensions from earlier this year, when the West slapped sanctions against the country on grounds Tehran is developing weapons-grade nuclear materials, a charge Iran denies.
Part of those sanctions included a European ban on Iranian crude imports, which took full effect July 1
Iran agreed to talks with delegates from the U.S., U.K., China, France, and Russia and Germany to negotiate a way out of the crisis, which had kept prices at bay up to now.
A cooling global economy has pushed oil prices down, but talk the Federal Reserve and other central banks may roll out monetary stimulus measures to reheat global output pushed up oil higher before early-session profit-taking.
Monetary stimulus measures tend to send oil prices climbing as they involve injecting liquidity into the financial system, which ends up in commodities markets.
In the U.S. earlier this week, the Institute for Supply Management reported that its index of manufacturing activity fell to 49.7 in June from 53.5 in May.
A reading below 50.0 indicates industry contraction.
June's figure was the lowest reading since July 2009 and well below analyst forecasts for the index to slip down to 52.0.
Official data softened the blow.
The U.S. government reported that U.S. factory orders increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in May, above expectations for a 0.2% gain.
Meanwhile in China, the HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index, which focuses on small and medium-sized companies, fell to 48.2 in June from 48.4 in May.
In Europe, jobs data further pointed to a cooling economy that would need less oil.
The eurozone unemployment rate rose to a record high 11.1% in May from 11.0% in April.
The European Central Bank and the Bank of England will hold monetary policy meetings later this week, and hopes are building for stimulus measures.
On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its June jobs report, and expectations that the number may disappoint further fueled expectations for monetary intervention.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery were down 0.50% and trading at USD100.09 a barrel, up USD12.75 from its U.S. counterpart.