Investing.com - Oil prices added to overnight losses in North American trade on Tuesday, as market players looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 2.5 million barrels in the week ended July 22.
Gasoline inventories are expected to increase by 675,000 barrels while stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, are forecast to rise by 700,000 barrels, according to analysts.
Crude oil for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell to a session low of $42.36 a barrel, a level not seen since April 20. It was last at $42.61 by 13:07GMT, or 9:07AM ET, down 52 cents, or 1.21%.
A day earlier, New York-traded oil lost $1.06, or 2.4%, as concerns over a global supply glut intensified amid signs of an ongoing recovery in U.S. drilling activity.
According to oilfield services provider Baker Hughes, the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. last week increased by 14 to 371, the fourth straight weekly rise and the seventh increase in eight weeks.
The renewed gain in U.S. drilling activity fueled speculation that domestic production could be on the verge of rebounding in the weeks ahead, underlining worries over a supply glut.
Concerns over a rising gasoline inventories further weighed. Despite being in the midst of the peak summer-driving season in the U.S., gasoline stocks are well above the upper limit of the average range, according to the EIA.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for October delivery dipped 35 cents, or 0.78%, to $44.78 a barrel, after falling to a daily low of $44.14 earlier, the weakest since May 10.
London-traded Brent futures have been under pressure in recent weeks as prospects of increased exports from Libya and Iraq added to concerns that a glut of oil products will cut demand for crude by refiners.