London - The price of crude rose slightly Tuesday after better-than-expected industrial order figures from Germany and ahead of forecasts and inventory reports from the US.
Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 23 cents to $106.79 per barrel, after trading 35 cents lower, at midday trading London time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract fell 38 cents to close at $106.56 on the Nymex on Monday.
German industrial orders rose 3.8 percent in June as companies bought more big-ticket goods, including those ordered at the Paris Air Show.
Tuesday's figures helped bolster hopes that the euro area could soon show signs of recovery.
“Taking a glimpse into the second half of this year, we think that the overall positive momentum will continue,” said Andreas Rees at UniCredit Research.
“Increasing Chinese headwinds will be compensated for by impulses from the US and especially from the eurozone as indicated by recent business sentiment surveys and already piecemeal hard data.”
Meanwhile, the US Energy Department, the International Energy Agency and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will this week release their latest assessments of the energy markets, including forecasts for worldwide demand for oil.
Analysts are anticipating some downward revisions, given a slowdown in China's economy.
Brent crude, traded on the ICE Futures exchange in London, rose 3 cent to $108.73 per barrel.
In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:
- Heating oil fell 0.3 cents to $3.048 a gallon.
- Natural gas rose 2 cents to $3.341 per 1,000 cubic feet.
- Wholesale gasoline rose 1.5 cents to $2.957 a gallon. - Sapa-AP