Investing.com - Crude oil futures recovered from earlier losses on Tuesday, as traders looked ahead to weekly data on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for August delivery inched up 15 cents, or 0.25%, to trade at $52.35 a barrel during U.S. morning hours after hitting a session low of $50.90 earlier.
Market players looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 2.1 million barrels in the week ended July 10.
New York-traded oil futures have been under heavy pressure in recent weeks as worries over high domestic U.S. oil production weighed.
According to industry research group Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI), the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. rose by five last week to 645, marking the second straight week of gains after 29 weeks of declines.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for September delivery touched an intraday low of $56.76 a barrel, the weakest level since July 8, before paring losses to trade at $57.96, down 20 cents, or 0.34%.
The spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $5.61 a barrel, compared to $5.95 by close of trade on Monday.
Oil prices were down more than 2% earlier as Iran and six world powers reached a long-awaited nuclear deal that would end sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on the country's disputed nuclear program.
A deal is viewed as bearish for oil prices, as Iran reportedly hoards 30 million barrels of crude in its reserves ready for export.
An outflow of Iranian oil could depress crude prices in a global market already oversaturated by a glut of oversupply.
Global oil production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil production and after a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year not to cut production.