Investing.com -
Investing.com - Crude futures moved lower on Tuesday as investors jumped to the sidelines to await the release of industry and official weekly stockpile reports.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in July traded at $104.11 a barrel during U.S. trading, down 0.29%. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of $104.04 a barrel and a high of $105.05 a barrel.
The July contract settled up 1.70% at $104.41 a barrel on Monday.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $102.62 a barrel, Monday's low, and resistance at $105.05 a barrel, the earlier high.
Profit taking sent oil prices falling on Tuesday, after investors locked in gains from upbeat U.S. and Chinese data and sold and headed for the sidelines to await fresh steering currents, namely weekly U.S. supply reports.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday's government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week ended June 6.
Oil traders were also looking ahead to Wednesday's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna, amid expectations the organization will maintain its production quota at 30 million.
The 12-member group is responsible for approximately 40% of global supply.
Tuesday's caution wiped out gains stemming from solid U.S. and Chinese economic indicators.
Data on Sunday revealed that China's crude imports fell to 6.16 million barrels a day in May from April's record high of 6.8 million barrels a day, but were still 9% higher on a year-over-year basis.
Chinese exports gathered momentum last month on the back of stronger global demand, rising at an annualized rate of 7% after a 0.9% increase in April. China is the world's second-largest oil-consuming nation, and the better-than-expected numbers sent oil prices posting hefty gains.
In the U.S., the Labor Department reported that the economy added 217,000 in May, in line with expectations.
The private sector added 216,000 jobs last month, exceeding expectations for a 210,000 gain.
It was the fourth consecutive month in which the U.S. economy added more than 200,000 new nonfarm payrolls.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for August delivery were down 0.54% and trading at US$108.57 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at US$4.46 a barrel.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
