Oil prices declined on Tuesday as market participants awaited data on U.S. crude stockpiles.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery lost 33 cents to settle at 41.61 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for October delivery fell 49 cents to close at 44.50 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
The moves followed an upbeat session that saw the WTI and Brent gain 1.75 percent and 1.33 percent, respectively.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration is set to release its weekly petroleum status report on Wednesday. U.S. crude stocks are expected to post a fall of 4.7 million barrels for the week ending Aug. 7, according to analysts polled by S&P Global Platts.
Eugen Weinberg, energy analyst Commerzbank Research, said in a note on Tuesday that institutional investors on the oil market have tended to show restraint in recent weeks, making the prices prone to profit-taking.
He also said the environment remains favorable for oil prices in the short term, as the high production discipline shown by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries should "offset" the faltering recovery of demand.
For the week ending Friday, WTI climbed 2.4 percent and Brent gained 2 percent.
Editor:Cherie
