Oil Prices Dip Amid Mixed Signals

Oil prices dipped on Tuesday, weighed down by gradually rising output from producer club OPEC. International Brent crude oil futures were at $76.14 per barrel, down 7 cents from their last close, CNBC reported. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 11 cents at $68.76 per barrel. Traders said markets were range-bound, hemmed in by conflicting price signals. The monitoring committee of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries found that oil producers participating in a supply-reduction agreement, which includes non-OPEC member Russia, cut output in July by 9% more than called for. The findings for last month compare with a compliance level of 120% for June and 147% for May, meaning participants have been steadily increasing production. OPEC and its allies agreed in late 2016 to cut output from 2017 by around 1.8 million barrels per day versus October 2016 levels. ANZ bank said on Monday that investors were “expecting US inventories to rise this week”, as some refineries go into maintenance.