Crude oil prices moved lower for the second consecutive day on word of increased Chinese oil production and expectations from Iran.
Brent crude oil prices lost about half a percent in early Tuesday trading to $63.06 per barrel, down more than $2 per barrel since the start of June. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, lost nearly a full percent to trade at $59.84, down from a June 1 price around $60.
Crude oil prices have recovered from early 2015 lows below the $50 mark amid signs of slow but steady global economic growth. Prices fell dramatically starting in June 2014 as U.S. oil production pushed markets toward the supply side.
The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission said domestic crude oil production for the first five months of the year was up 1.7 percent year-on-year and demand was up 4 percent over the same period in 2014.
China, a lead consumer, can expect production to increase by about 0.4 percent for full-year 2015. Saudi Arabia, the de facto head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has said it has the supplies necessary to help meet Chinese demands.
OPEC member Iran has said it expects more of its crude oil to enter the international market if sanctions pressures ease in response to ongoing nuclear negotiations. Iran is limited by sanctions to exporting around 1 million barrels of oil per day, around half its full potential.
Talks may go beyond a June 30 deadline, however, as negotiators weigh the impact of an Iranian parliamentary vote to ban international nuclear inspectors from certain sites. John Kirby, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said that if a deal is reached, "it'll be a good deal, and it'll be a deal that ensures that Iran does not ever come into possession of a nuclear weapon."
