Petroleum futures were falling Tuesday, resuming a downward trend that began last week.
Gasoline futures lead the declines, pressured by concerns over lackluster demand and steady refinery output. The NYMEX June RBOB contract was down by 4.4cts to $2.5442/gal as of 11:15 a.m. ET, more than offsetting Monday's gains.
The July RBOB contract was 3.8cts lower at $2.5184/gal.
Diesel futures were also lower, but the declines were modest. The NYMEX June ULSD contract was off by 0.35ct to $2.4582/gal and the July contract was down 0.27ct to $2.4712/gal.
Trading in crude oil futures was choppy Tuesday morning, with the NYMEX June West Texas Intermediate contract 32cts lower at $78.16/bbl, about 50cts above the morning's low. The July WTI contract was down by 31cts to $77.83/bbl.
European benchmark Brent crude prices were trading in a similar range, with the July contract off 45cts to $82.88/bbl and August 36cts lower at $82.48/bbl.
The crude oil declines came after Russian officials indicated they were considering raising production from current levels despite an agreement between OPEC and its allies to voluntarily cap output at least through the first half of the year. The cartel is now expected by many to keep the production agreement in place through the rest of the year when it meets in June.
But Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Tuesday suggested the group may increase production if market conditions warrant it.
The weaker oil prices also come despite uncertainty over what will happen next in the war between Israel and Hamas.
While Hamas representatives on Monday said they accepted a cease-fire deal being brokered by Egyptian and Qatari negotiators, Israel has said the proposal does not meet its core requirements.
Markets are looking ahead to the release later Tuesday of U.S. inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute and Wednesday's inventory and demand data from the Energy Information Administration.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-07-24 1209ET
