Investing.com - Oil prices were lower in North American trading on Tuesday, erasing overnight gains as investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on stockpiles of crude and refined products.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude June contract shed 23 cents, or around 0.5%, to $46.20 a barrel by 9:10AM ET (13:10GMT), pulling back from a session peak of $46.78.
The U.S. benchmark settled higher for the second session in a row on Monday, bouncing back after touching its lowest since November 14 at $43.76 on Friday.
Elsewhere, Brent oil for July delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London dipped 25 cents to $49.09 a barrel. The global benchmark sank to $46.64 on Friday, a level not seen since November 15.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (20:30GMT) later on Tuesday. Official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday, amid forecasts for an oil-stock drop of 1.8 million barrels.
Crude has been under pressure in recent weeks amid fears that an ongoing rebound in U.S. shale production is derailing efforts by other major producers to rebalance global oil supply and demand.
OPEC and non-member oil producers are considering extending a global supply cut for nine months or more to help clear a supply glut, OPEC and industry sources said on Monday.
In November last year, OPEC and other producers, including Russia agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day between January and June, but so far the move has had little impact on inventory levels.
A final decision on whether or not to extend the deal beyond June will be taken by the oil cartel on May 25.
Elsewhere on Nymex, gasoline futures for June slipped 1.2 cents, or nearly 0.9%, to $1.509 a gallon, while June heating oil inched down 0.4 cents to $1.451 a gallon.
Natural gas futures for June delivery advanced 3.2 cents to $3.204 per million British thermal units.