WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil futures settled lower on Tuesday amid concerns crude supplies will far exceed near term demand.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down $0.17 or about 0.25% at $67.21 a barrel, a day after suffering a sharp setback.
Brent crude futures dropped to $71.12 a barrel, losing $0.30 or about 0.42%.
Lingering concerns about the outlook for oil demand from China and OPEC+'s plans to return 2.2 million barrels per day of voluntary production cuts and also add 180 barrels per day for a year beginning in December weighed on oil prices.
Israel's decision to avoid hitting Iran's oil and nuclear facilities helped ease supply disruption concerns and limited the downside in oil prices.
Still, Middle East tensions persist, with Hezbollah naming a new leader and an Israeli strike on a five-story building where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in northern Gaza killing at least 34 people early Tuesday.
Also, Israel's parliament passed two laws that could seriously impede the work of the United Nations' aid agency in Gaza.
Traders were also reacting to a U.S. plan to buy oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The U.S. on Monday said it is seeking up to 3 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for delivery through May next year.
Markets now await weekly oil reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The API's report is due later today, while the EIA data is due Wednesday morning.
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