Crude Oil Futures Rise Above $50 a Barrel on Tuesday

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Oil futures settled above $50 a barrel on Tuesday as investors awaited weekly data on crude oil supplies, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.

November West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 35 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $50.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, rebounding from $49.76 a barrel earlier in the day. The November WTI futures contracts expire at Thursday’s settlement.

December Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 16 cents, or 0.3%, to end trading at $51.68 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Exchange.

“Crude prices continue to be pulled in opposite directions, as potential OPEC coordination and a possible corresponding return of U.S. shale output [dominate] the longer-term discussion,” said Robbie Fraser, commodity analyst at Schneider Electric.

The comments “raised doubts about the actual possibility that OPEC will really make any progress in enacting a quota, because the policy simply doesn’t work without the cooperation of a major player like Iran,” said Tyler Richey, co-editor of The 7:00’s Report.

Oil prices have generally risen since the preliminary OPEC deal was announced in late September. The deal is expected to be completed at the November 30 meeting in Vienna.

The oil market awaits weekly data on petroleum supplies due out from the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday and the Energy Information Administration early Wednesday.

Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a rise of 2.5 million barrels for crude oil stockpiles.

Meanwhile, November natural gas climbed 1.9 cents, or 0.6%, settling at $3.263 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.