Greece s debt crisis deepened on Tuesday when its European Union bailout expired and the country failed to make a key International Monetary Fund debt payment, heightening fears the country was headed for a eurozone exit.
The Wall Street Journal reports benchmark Brent Crude futures fell 2.5 per cent to $62.01 a barrel.
Investors kept a close eye on talks in Vienna on Iran’s nuclear programme that could end years of economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic and eventually allow a big increase in Iranian oil exports. Oil prices would immediately tumble if Iran and six world powers agreed a nuclear deal, Phillip Futures said.
“The API showed a crude oil stock increase, so more bearish than the consensus”.
In an email to clients, the analysts noted: “With Chinese aluminium exports now likely to play a sustained and growing role in the global market in future years, the whole market structure has been radically altered”.
“We have to wait and see how bad [a negative vote] would affect the rest of the Europe”, Dominic Haywood, a crude oil analyst for London-based energy market consultancy Energy Aspects, told Anadolu Agency. The crude oil price chart suggests that WTI could fluctuate between $55 and $64 per barrel in the near term. The contract was heading for a decline of more than 4 percent for June.
Market participants will also be watching for estimates on US crude supply-demand due on Tuesday from industry group American Petroleum Institute, ahead of government inventory numbers on Wednesday.
Asian imports of Iranian crude in May rose to the highest level this year at 1.2 million BPD, although buyers may have to curb any further increases if negotiators fail to reach a final deal on Tehran’s nuclear work.
“Demand will have its say but from a supply perspective it is hard not to believe the seeds of the next price spike are being sown today”, Deutsche Bank said in a note on Tuesday.
The higher United States output added to an ongoing glut in global production.
Gasoline futures settled up 5.93 cents, or 2.9%, at $2.0896 a gallon.
The dollar slipped against the euro (EUR=) after U.S.jobs growth slowed in June and factory orders fell in May, tempering expectations for a September interest rate hike.
