U.S. Crude Oil Drops to 10-Week Low on Tuesday

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Oil futures fell on Tuesday as skittish traders responded to the increasing glut of crude oil inventories with easing energy demand, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.

August West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 59 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $44.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest close since May 9.

On the London ICE Futures Exchange, September Brent crude, the global benchmark fell 30 cents, or 0.6%, to end trading at $46.66 a barrel.

The American Petroleum Institute reported that domestic crude oil supplies dropped by 2.3 million barrels for the week ending July 15, with the U.S. benchmark settling at a 10-week low.

There is also growing anxiety that the recent rise in prices is prompting some U.S. shale producers to increase output.

Troy Vincent, oil analyst at ClipperData, said he expects U.S. production to bottom next month as “offshore production continues to offset marginal losses from shale basins.”

Meanwhile, August natural gas added less than a penny to settle at $2.728 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.