Oil Futures Dip as Commodity Rally Gathers Breath
Oil prices dipped
in Asian trade on Tuesday, giving up gains from the previous session
after data showed U.S. crude inventories fell for the first time since
January and as commodity prices paused from their recent rally.
U.S.
crude futures for May LCOK6, the front month from Tuesday, were down 6
cents at $41.46 a barrel at 0245 GMT, after settling up 0.8 percent at
$41.52 on Monday.
The previous front month settled at $39.91 before expiring on Monday.
Brent
crude futures for May delivery LCOc1 were 12 cents lower at $41.42 a
barrel after rising 0.8 percent on Monday. Brent has risen more than 50
percent from 12-year lows in January.
"The current
risk-on environment remains conducive for commodity prices to
consolidate after a strong rebound in the last six weeks," ANZ said in a
morning note.
"However, a further improvement in fundamentals will be needed for bulks, crude oil and base metals to rally further."
Stockpiles
at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for U.S. crude fell 570,574
barrels to 69.05 million in the week to March 18, traders said on
Monday, citing data from market intelligence firm Genscape.
Cushing inventories had previously risen toward 70 million barrels, causing market participants to fear they could hit capacity.
Iran
may join other oil producers planning to freeze production to support
prices at a later date, OPEC's secretary general said on Monday, as the
country is seeking to raise its exports after Western sanctions were
lifted on Tehran in January.
Producers from the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-members are
due to meet on April 17 in Qatar discuss the output freeze.
Iran
is keen to increase its oil exports, which fell by more than half
during the sanctions over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, and has
said it should not be bound by a production freeze until it can recover
its market share. (Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Joseph Radford and Richard Pullin)