Oil Dips as Investors Focus on Growth Gloom Before Fed Testimony - Bloomberg

Oil Dips as Investors Focus on Growth Gloom Before Fed Testimony - Bloomberg:

Oil fell for the first time in a week as concern about the slowing global economy took precedence over geopolitical tensions, while investors waited for clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate-cut path.

Futures in New York declined as much as 0.6% after closing 0.3% higher on Monday. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify to Congress on Wednesday and Thursday. The Middle East remained tense as BP Plc kept a ship in the Persian Gulf for fear it might be seized by Iran in retaliation for British forces arresting a vessel carrying the Islamic Republic’s crude last week.

A rally in crude that was mainly driven by the U.S.-Iran standoff faltered last week as investors fretted over the possibility of deteriorating demand even as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies extend their output curbs. The chances that the U.S. and China will resolve their trade dispute in the near term appear low, so investors are increasingly hoping for monetary stimulus to revive consumption.

West Texas Intermediate oil for August delivery fell 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $57.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 7:43 a.m. in London after dropping as much as 37 cents earlier. The contract rallied 2.1% from last Tuesday’s close through Monday.

Brent for September settlement lost 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $63.93 a barrel the ICE Futures Europe Exchange. It closed 0.2% lower on Monday. The global benchmark crude traded at a $6.37 premium to WTI for the same month.