11th Nov 2014 12:55
WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - Crude oil prices are lower Tuesday morning, extending previous session's losses, ahead of weekly inventories data.
The American Petroleum Institute this afternoon will come out with its crude inventory data for the week ended November 7th. The US Energy Information Administration's weekly oil report is due for release tomorrow.
Crude oil declined to a near three-year low this morning as reports that OPEC members are unlikely to cut output outweighed geopolitical worries. Also, speculation is rife that US crude inventories may have risen notably last week.
On Monday, Iraq announced a reduction in oil prices for its US customers even as it raised the cost for customers in Asia and Europe.
Crude oil futures for December delivery are down USD0.30 or 0.39% at USD77.10 a barrel, after declining to USD76.45, not far off from a three-year low of USD75.84 it had touched last Tuesday.
On Monday, crude oil futures ended down USD1.25 or 1.6% at USD77.40 a barrel.
Speaking at an industry conference in Abu Dhabi, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri had said that there was no need to panic over the low prices and that the situation would resolve by itself.
Weak inflation data out of China also weighed on oil, but renewed worries over the conflict in eastern Ukraine has kept oil from dropping to new 3-year lows.
According to reports, heavy fighting took place between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region over the weekend. Reports indicate a convoy of 21 trucks, six tanks and over a dozen howitzer cannons were driven to Donetsk on Monday.
Meanwhile, natural gas for December is down USD0.085 or 2.00% at USD4.170 per million btu.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX