After reaching a two-week high, crude oil futures retreated on Tuesday as traders pondered government data reports suggesting an increase in inventories, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude futures for September delivery fell 25 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $42.77 a barrel.
October Brent crude, the global benchmark, declined 41 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $44.94 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Exchange.
Crude oil futures were erratic with gains and losses posted during Tuesday’s session. Prices fell following the release of the U.S. Energy Information Administration report which predicted a decline in domestic crude oil production to 8.73 million barrels a day in 2016 from 9.43 million barrels in 2015. In July, the EIA forecast 2016 production of 8.61 million barrels. The American Petroleum Institute report released late Tuesday revealed an increase of 2.1 million barrels in U.S. crude oil inventories last week.
Traders “continued to eye the possibility that [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] members may hold talks in September to consider production caps,” wrote strategists at Tradition Energy.
On Monday, OPEC announced that it will hold an informal meeting next month in Algeria. Some cartel members want to set new limits on production.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September natural gas futures fell 13.3 cents, or 4.8%, to $2.615 per million British thermal units.