Oil prices edged lower early on Tuesday, coming off gains made the previous day as concerns about the global economic backdrop outweighed supply worries raised when Saudi Arabia announced its biggest output cut in years.
Brent crude futures slipped 27 cents to $76.44 a barrel by 0411 GMT. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 33 cents to $71.82 a barrel.
Brent had gained as much as $2.60 on Monday and U.S. crude as much as $3.30 after Saudi Arabia, the world’s top exporter, said at the weekend its output would drop by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to 9 million bpd in July.
The benchmarks pulled back, though, to more modest gains by the end of the day. “Supply-side issues took centre stage following OPEC’s production cuts. However, the gains were limited amid ongoing concerns over the economic backdrop,” said ANZ analysts in a research note.
Market participants are now waiting to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike or hold interest rates in June and what China’s May trade data on Wednesday will indicate about demand in the world’s second-largest oil consumer.
