U.S. Activity Weighs Oil Prices

Oil prices were broadly lower during Tuesday’s Asian session as investors weighed concerns that increased U.S. production could keep inventories high and maintain pressure on prices. U.S. crude production from major shale formations is predicted to increase by 131,000 barrels per day in April to a record of 6.95 million barrels per day, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Association on Monday. The increase in production will come from seven U.S. production areas. Further data will be released by the EIA on Wednesday, which may put oil prices under further pressure.

U.S. WTI futures were down 0.18 percent to $61.25 per barrel as of 1:42 p.m. HK/SIN. Brent crude futures were down 0.12 percent to $64.87 per barrel. These declines come after nearly 1 percent slumps for both futures on Monday.

Stock Market Movements

Asian stock markets were trading sideways early Tuesday afternoon after a mixed day on Wall Street in which the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both closed lower, but the Nasdaq composite ended the day with modest gains, buoyed by gains in the technology sector. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.38 percent after struggling earlier in the session on continuing concerns about the U.S. tariffs and the political scandal building around Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but Australia’s ASX 200 was down 0.36 percent. The Shanghai composite was down 0.20 percent and South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.11 percent.

All eyes are now on U.S. inflation data which is due out later today.

Sara Patterson
Sara Patterson has a Master’s Degree in political science and enjoys analyzing both current events and the international markets to get a fuller perspective of the currency market. Before turning to financial writing, she taught English writing skills to high-school age students. Sara’s work has been published on various financial and Forex blogs.