Oil closed mixed; output increase put pressure on prices

Oil prices closed mixed in early Asian trade on Tuesday. Prices were under pressure as Russia and Saudi Arabia were both planning on pumping more crude to help with impending supply shortfalls.

Brent crude futures climbed by about 57 cents, 0.76 percent, and closed at $75.87 a barrel at 0028 GMT. This was all after they settled at their lowest since May 8 at $75.30. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined by about 1.18 percent, or 80 cents, and settled at $67.08 a barrel. In the previous session, WTI recorded its lowest settlement since April 17 at $66.47 per barrel.

The production of U.S. oil has climbed up by more than 27 percent within two years to 10.73 million barrels per day (bpd), exceeding Saudi Arabia. Now, Russia is the only country that pumps more than the U.S.

Italian election concerns have dragged the euro down, close to a six-and-a-half-month low

The euro hit a near 6-and-a-half-month low against the dollar on Tuesday. Italy seems to be going towards another cycle of election, which deeply concerns investors. The euro showed very little movement closing at $1.1629. This was after an overnight slip to $1.1607, which marks its lowest since November 9. Versus its Japanese counterpart, the euro shed 0.2 percent and settled at ¥126.960 after dropping to ‎¥126.820 – its lowest since late June 2017.

The dollar index stood at 94.394 against a basket of six major currencies, which is not far from a 6-1/2-month peak of 94.496 recorded on Monday. Versus the yen, the greenback dropped by 0.25 percent and closed at ‎¥109.155 after temporarily climbing to ‎¥109.830 on Monday. The Australian and New Zealand dollars held on at $0.7545 and $0.6939 respectively.