WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices were seeing modest gains on Tuesday as the dollar slipped amid improvement in investors' risk appetite.
The upside remained capped amid demand concerns and ahead of key inventory data releases from the American Petroleum Institute and the Energy Information Administration.
Benchmark Brent crude futures rose about half a percent to $87.42 a barrel while WTI crude futures were up half a percent at $82.27.
A weaker dollar, stronger economic data out of Europe and the prospect of potentially tighter supplies in the coming months helped push oil prices higher in European trade.
The dollar traded weak as investors await the release of first-quarter U.S. GDP data as well as the core personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, this week for clues about the timing and pace of interest-rate cuts this year.
Market participants also weighed the potential fallout after EU foreign ministers agreed in principle to expand sanctions on Iran.
On the data front, a survey showed that business activity in the euro zone expanded at its fastest pace in nearly a year this month.
The composite PMI increased from 50.3 to 51.4 in April on the back of a buoyant recovery in the bloc's dominant service sector.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX