(RTTNews) – Crude oil dropped sharply on Tuesday, backing off an eight-month intraday high, as some discouraging economic news raised demand concerns.
Light sweet crude for August delivery dropped to $69.89 per barrel, down $1.60 on the session. Prices dipped as low as $68.90 after earlier reaching as high as $73.38
The Energy Information Administration data on petroleum inventories will be made public on Wednesday. Experts are looking for a decline of about 2.2 million barrels.
The dollar climbed back above 1.4100 versus the euro after hitting a 3 1/2-week low earlier in the session. The buck also bounced back against the pound after hitting an eight-month low in overnight trading.
On the economic front, the Conference Board consumer confidence index fell to 49.3 in June from a revised 54.8 in May. Experts expected the index to edge up to 55.3 from the 54.9 originally reported for last month.
The ISM-Chicago manufacturing index rose to 39.9 in June from 34.9 in May, although a reading below 50 indicates a continued contraction. Economists had been expecting the index to increase to a reading of 39.0.
Earlier, the S&P Case-Shiller Index showed a 0.6 percent decline from March to April, according to a survey of prices in 20 U.S. cities. This represented a drop of 18.1 percent compared to the same period last year.
Crude soared $2.33 on Monday amid violence worries in Nigeria. Prices had touched as high as $72.40 earlier in the day, its best intraday mark since June 19. Read More Market News Here
