Investing.com - Oil prices resumed their decline on Tuesday, one day after bouncing off seven-year lows, as worries that a global supply glut may stick around for longer than anticipated continued to weigh.
Oil futures have fallen almost 15% since December 4, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to agree on output targets to reduce a glut of oversupply on global energy markets.
Global crude production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil and after a decision by OPEC last year not to cut production in order to defend market share.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for February delivery dipped 14 cents, or 0.38%, to trade at $37.86 a barrel during European morning hours.
A day earlier, London-traded Brent sank to $36.75, a level not seen since the depths of the 2008 global financial crisis, before paring losses to end down 16 cents, or 0.42%, at $38.16.
Brent oil prices are on track to post an annual decline of 34% in 2015, as oversupply concerns dominated market sentiment for most of the year.
Elsewhere, crude oil for delivery in January on the New York Mercantile Exchange inched down 26 cents, or 0.7%, to trade at $36.05 a barrel. Nymex futures fell to $34.53 on Monday, the lowest since February 2009, before turning higher to end at $36.31, up 69 cents, or 1.94%.
U.S. oil futures are down 32% so far this year amid worries over ample domestic supplies. Market players looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 2.0 million barrels in the week ended December 11.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $1.81 a barrel, compared to $1.85 by close of trade on Monday.
Market participants awaited the Federal Reserve's highly-anticipated policy decision due on Wednesday. Most investors expect the Fed to raise interest rates for the first time since June 2006.