It was West Texas Intermediate crude’s turn to absorb the news that Iran will be re-joining the global oil markets soon. February contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 96 cents to settle at $28.46 a barrel. It was the first day of trading on U.S. markets since the announcement that the sanctions were being lifted on Iran.
March Brent crude regained some ground on Tuesday. The London ICE Futures Exchange contract added 21 cents to end trade at $28.76 a barrel.
The International Energy Agency said Tuesday it believes the world will have an excess supply of around one million barrels of oil a day this year.
China’s economy showed further signs of slowing. The Chinese Gross Domestic Product grew by 6.9 percent in 2015. In 2014, China reported its GDP grew by 7.3 percent.
February natural gas lost less than a penny to end trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $2.091 per million British thermal units.
