Crude Oil Ends Higher On Geopolitical Tensions

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil snapped a two-day loss to end higher on Tuesday, ahead of the official weekly crude oil report on concerns over the escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine. Some strong data out the U.S. also contributed to crude oil's uptick, although worries of global supply outweighing demand remained.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration is scheduled to report its weekly crude inventory data on Wednesday, while the American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly oil report later today.

Investors continued to keep a close watch on developments in Ukraine and the Middle East, with focus on the meeting between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Minsk in Belarus later today.

Meanwhile, news reports say Ukrainian forces have captured some Russian soldiers near the Donetsk region. In the Gaza Strip, Israel has stepped up pressure on Hamas, bombing two high-rise structures in the city.

Worries about a likely drop in Chinese demand for oil due to economic slowdown and the resumption of oil shipments from Libyan ports also limited crude oil's uptick.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for October delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $0.51 or 0.5 percent to close at $93.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

Crude prices for October delivery scaled a high of $94.35 a barrel intraday and a low of $93.35.

On Monday, crude oil futures ended lower amid concerns over global oil supply outweighing demand.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 82.65 on Tuesday, down from its previous close of 82.58 late Monday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 82.67 intraday and a low of 82.43.

The euro trended lower against the dollar at $1.3169 on Tuesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3192 late Monday in North American trade. The euro scaled a high of $1.3214 intraday and a low of $1.3166.

In economic news from the U.S., a report from the Labor Department showed durable goods orders to have surged up by a much better than expected 22.6 percent in July, lifted by a record number of contracts for new jets from Boeing. However, excluding transportation, orders slumped 0.8 percent, against forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, a report released by the Conference Board showed consumer confidence in the U.S. to have improved for the fourth consecutive month in August, with the index jumping to 92.4, the highest level since October 2007, from a revised 90.3 in July.

U.S. home prices in major cities continued to rise in June but at a slower pace than the previous month, the S&P/Case-Shiller's 20-city composite index data showed Tuesday. Home prices were up 1 percent in June, following a 1.1 percent month-over-month increase in May, in line with economists' estimates. The pace of annual growth in home prices slowed to an 8.1 percent increase in June, compared with annual growth of 9.4 percent in May.

China's economy continued to expand in July at a steady pace, a survey from the Conference Board showed with as its leading index adding 1.3 percent. This follows the 1.3 percent increase in June and the 0.7 percent gain in May. The coincident index added 1.2 percent in July after gaining 0.9 percent in June and 0.7 percent in May.