Crude oil futures fell short on Tuesday as traders looked to upcoming weekly data on domestic crude inventories and weighed prospects for an extension on OPEC’s production cut agreement, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October West Texas Intermediate crude dropped by 43 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $49.48 a barrel. The October contract expires at the end of Wednesday’s session.
November Brent crude, the global benchmark, lost 34 cents, or 0.6%, to end trading at $55.14 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange.
On Monday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released data showed expectations for a 10th straight monthly rise in domestic shale oil production.
OPEC participants will meet in Vienna on Friday to review compliance with the production curb agreement that is currently in place. Investors and analysts widely expect that any decision on further cuts won’t come until OPEC’s official annual meeting in November.
On Wednesday, the EIA is expected to reveal a third-consecutive weekly rise in U.S. crude stockpiles. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a build of 2.4 million barrels in crude supplies.
Meanwhile, natural gas retreated on Tuesday after a weather-related jump of 4% at the beginning of the week. October natural gas settled at $3.122 per million British thermal units, down 2.4 cents, or 0.8%.
