Forexpros – Crude oil futures were lower during European morning trade on Wednesday, as concerns over the global economic outlook and the impact on future oil demand prospects dampened the appeal of the commodity.
Oil traders were also focusing on closely-watched weekly supply data on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products from the U.S. Energy Information Administration later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD93.05 a barrel during European morning trade, shedding 0.4%.
Prices were trapped in a narrow trading range of USD93.52 a barrel, the daily high and a session low of USD92.97 a barrel. Prices hit a three-month high of USD94.69 on August 8.
Stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales data proved to be a negative for global markets, as it dampened hopes for further easing by the Federal Reserve, weighing on appetite for riskier assets.
The U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday that retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.8% in July, the largest monthly gain since February and the first increase in four months.
Meanwhile, in the euro zone, official data showed that the region’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% in the three months to June, adding to signs of a deepening global slump.
Worries about China’s cooling growth also pressured oil prices. The Asian nation is the world’s second largest oil consumer, trailing only the U.S.
Oil traders were now looking ahead to weekly data from the U.S. government on oil supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world’s largest oil consumer.
The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell by 1.6 million barrels last week.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rose by 2.78 million barrels last week, confounding expectations for a decline of 1.73 million barrels.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for October delivery shed 0.25% to trade at USD111.88 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD18.83.
London-traded Brent prices touched USD113.52 on August 10, the highest since May 10.
Brent prices have been well-supported in recent weeks, rallying nearly 20% from the lows touched in June, amid growing concerns over tightening supplies from the North Sea region and following the launch of Western-led sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports on July 1.
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