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Oil prices fell amid concerns about inventory and demand
Oil prices fell on Tuesday, after a decline during the past two sessions, with investors cautious amid expectations of abundant supplies and weak demand, while the market ignored the turmoil witnessed in the US presidential election campaign.
Brent crude futures fell $1.39, or 1.69%, to reach $81.01 per barrel upon settlement.
US crude futures also lost $1.44, or 1.84%, to $76.96 per barrel upon settlement.
Most traders ignored US President Joe Biden's decision on Sunday to withdraw from the US presidential election race and nominate his running mate, Kamla Harris. Citi analysts ruled out that Republican candidate Donald Trump or Harris would promote policies that would significantly affect oil and gas operations.
The market focused on supply and demand, which Morgan Stanley analysts said was likely to balance by the fourth quarter and rise to surplus by next year, which would reduce Brent prices to the level of $70 to $80 per barrel.
The American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to issue its estimates of last week's oil inventories later today, Tuesday, while official US government data will be released tomorrow, Wednesday.
A preliminary Reuters poll of six analysts estimated US crude inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels on average in the week ending July 19, while gasoline inventories are likely to fall by 500,000 barrels.
