Investing.com -
Investing.com - U.S. oil prices pushed higher in choppy trade on Tuesday, as market players looked ahead to weekly supply data out of the U.S. to gauge the strength of oil demand from the world's largest consumer.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in May held in a range between $98.82 a barrel and $100.22 a barrel.
Nymex oil last traded at $100.00 a barrel during U.S. morning hours, up 0.41%, or 41 cents.
The May contract picked up 0.14%, or 14 cents, on Monday to settle at $99.60 a barrel. Futures were likely to find support at $98.25 a barrel, the low from March 21 and resistance at $100.29 a barrel, the high from March 24.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday's government report could show crude stockpiles rose by 2.5 million barrels in the week ended March 21.
The data was also expected to show that distillate stockpiles, including heating oil and diesel, decreased by 1.1 million barrels, while gasoline stockpiles were forecast to drop by 1.7 million barrels.
Meanwhile, investors digested mixed U.S. economic data on consumer confidence and new home sales released earlier in the day.
The Conference Board, a market research group said its index of consumer confidence increased to 82.3 this month from a reading of 78.3 in February, whose figure was revised up from a previously reported 78.1.
Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 78.6 in March.
A separate report from the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales declined by 3.3% to a seasonally adjusted 440,000 units last month, compared to expectations for a decline to 445,000.
New home sales in January were revised down to 455,000 units from a previously reported 468,000 units.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for May delivery picked up 0.5%, or 54 cents, to trade at $107.35 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at $7.35 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.
