Crude oil futures seesaw ahead of U.S. supply data, Bernanke

Investing.com - Crude oil futures swung between small gains and losses on Tuesday, as investors looked ahead to the release of key U.S. weekly supply data to gauge the strength of oil demand from the world's largest consumer.Market players remained cautious ahead of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD105.93 a barrel during European morning trade, little changed on the day.New York-traded oil prices traded in a range between USD105.49 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD106.24 a barrel.New York-traded oil prices rose to a 16-month high of USD107.44 a barrel on July 11.Oil traders looked ahead to the release of fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of oil demand in the world's largest oil consumer. The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday's government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 1.9 million barrels.Market participants were also anticipating Bernanke's testimony on monetary policy amid speculation over the timing of a possible reduction to the bank's USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.Oil prices rallied 2.3% last week after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank will continue to maintain accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future.Investors now looked ahead to the release of U.S. data on consumer price inflation and a report on industrial production later in the day. Data on Monday showed that U.S. retail sales rose less-than-expected June, fuelling fears over a slowdown in the economic recovery.The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% in June, slowing from a 0.5% increase in May and undershooting expectations for a 0.8% increase. However, a separate report showed that the Empire State manufacturing index rose to a five-month high of 9.5 in July from 7.8 in June. Economists had forecast a reading of 5.0. Any improvement in U.S. economic activity could scale back expectations for further easing, boosting the dollar and weighing on oil.The Fed's stimulus program is viewed by many investors as a key driver in boosting the price of commodities as it tends to depress the value of the dollar.Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery shed 0.15% to trade at USD107.92 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD1.99 a barrel.The gap between the contracts narrowed to the smallest level since November 2010 last week, amid an improving production outlook in the North Sea and indications of declining stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex oil futures.
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