Investing.com - Crude futures rose earlier Wednesday after disappointing U.S. retail sales and wholesale pricing reports softened the dollar, though supply fears wiped out gains and sent the commodity dipping back into negative territory.
A softer greenback makes oil a more attractive commodity on dollar-denominated exchanges, especially in the eyes of investors holding other currencies.
In the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in November traded down 0.23% at $81.65 a barrel during U.S. trading. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of $80.02 a barrel and a high of $82.44 a barrel.
The November contract settled down 4.55% at $81.84 a barrel on Tuesday.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $77.28 a barrel, the low from June 28, 2012, and resistance at $91.79 a barrel, the high from Oct. 3.
The Census Bureau reported earlier that U.S. retail sales fell 0.3% last month, exceeding forecasts for a 0.1% decline, after expanding 0.6% in August.
Core retail sales, which exclude motor vehicles and parts, dropped 0.2% in September, defying expectations for a 0.3% gain, after rising 0.3% the previous month.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation slipped 0.1% in September, disappointing expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a flat reading in August.
September's year-on-year PPI rose 1.6%, missing expectations for a 1.8% gain.
Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve of New York reported that its manufacturing index tumbled to a six-month low of 6.2 in October from 27.5 in September. Analysts had expected the index to tick down to 25.5 this month.
Wednesday's data sent investors rethinking how fast the Federal Reserve will move to tighten policy in 2015, which battered the dollar and sent oil into positive territory earlier.
Oil later slid into negative territory on concerns global supply remains ample while demand may be waning, especially if the U.S. economy consumes less fuel and energy going forward.
Hopes for U.S. demand to offset Europe and Asia have supported oil in recent sessions, though fears of a softening U.S. recovery sent investors avoiding the commodity.
On Tuesday, the International Energy Agency trimmed its global oil demand forecast for the fourth month in a row, stoking fears that global supplies remain ample while demand cools across the globe.
The agency said it now expected global oil demand for 2014 to total 92.4 million barrels a day, down 200,000 barrels per day from its September report.
The IEA added that it believes that demand growth "may have touched bottom" and should steadily improve.
Separately, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for December delivery were down 0.36% at US$85.10 a barrel, while the spread between Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at $3.45.