Investing.com - Oil prices extended losses into a second day on Tuesday, pressured lower by expectations of a rise in U.S. crude inventories and doubts that OPEC and its allies will cut oil output further in December.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 90 cents, or 1.6%, at $54.91 by 08:50 AM ET (12:50 GMT) after falling 1.5% in the previous session.
Brent futures were down $1.01 cents, or 1.6%, at $60.56 a barrel, having fallen 0.7% on Monday.
U.S. crude inventories are forecast to have risen by around 730,000 barrels last week. The American Petroleum Institute industry group reports its figures later on Tuesday, while the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration releases inventory data on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin said Tuesday it was still too early to commit to additional measures to stabilize a market haunted by the threat of oversupply.
Sorokin said in an interview with Tass that the existing output restraint agreement, which has held 1.2 million barrels a day of crude back from world markets, has been effective so far. It’s consistent with previous official Russian comments suggesting that they expect this year’s slide in prices to stop any further loss of market share to U.S. shale producers.
"Doubts about OPEC+" are weighing on prices, said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch, referring to the future of the output restraint pact between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other nations including Russia.
Brent has gained 13% in 2019, supported by the OPEC+ deal, which for now calls for a supply cut of 1.2 million barrels per day until March. The producers meet on Dec. 5-6 to decide whether to extend or adjust the pact.
Last week, Brent rose more than 4%, supported by a drop in U.S. inventories and signs of an easing in the U.S.-China trade dispute. Hopes of progress are now fading, some analysts said.
"A cautious market sentiment remains in place, with optimism from last week's progress on a China-U.S. trade deal ebbing away," JBC Energy said in a report.
--Reuters contributed to this report