(MENAFN- FxPro) Crude oil prices dipped in early Asia on Tuesday amid a generally bearish supply outlook and ahead of industry data on U.S. stockpiles.
Later, the American Petroleum Institute will releases its estimates of crude and refined product stocks at the end of last week. On Wednesday, more closely-watched data by the U.S. Department of Energy is due.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for September delivery eased 0.37% to $50.26 a barrel.
Overnight, crude futures extended its recent downturn on Monday as the dollar surged to multi-month highs, amid continuing concerns of oversupply in global energy markets.
On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Brent crude for September delivery wavered between $56.45 and $57.44 a barrel before ending the session at $56.60, down 0.52 or 0.91% on Monday.
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved last week's accord between Iran and a group of Western powers on a comprehensive nuclear deal.
The lifting of longstanding, severe economic sanctions against Iran could allow the Gulf state to double its export level over the next year. While the nation is expected to flood global markets with Iranian crude after the sanctions are lifted, it could still be several months before the Gulf state is able to ramp up its exports. The pact reached last week still must complete a 60-day review from U.S. Congress and could be hampered by even further delays due to political wrangling.
The deal is viewed as bearish for crude, as an outflow of Iranian oil could depress a market already saturated by oversupply.
Lower crude prices weigh on the poorer members of Opec, whose national economies are heavily dependent on oil proceeds to boost their GDP. Last week, Algerian energy minister Salah Khabri told a state-run news agency that an emergency Opec meeting might be needed in order for the member states to craft a long-term strategy.
Last November, Opec triggered a protracted battle for global market share by keeping its production ceiling above 30 million barrels per day. While the world's largest oil cartel reportedly employed the strategy in an effort to undercut U.S. shale producers, U.S. crude output has remained near record-highs over the last several months. Though U.S. production fell slightly last week to 9.562 million barrels per day it is still more than 1.1 million bpd higher than the average level from July, 2014.
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