2021.03.1619:32:00UTC+00Crude Oil Futures Settle Lower Ahead Of Inventory Data

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Tuesday amid expectations official data due on Wednesday may show another increase in U.S. crude inventories.

Concerns about a likely drop in energy demand amid reports several countries in Europe have temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $0.59 or 0.9% at $64.80 an ounce, falling for a third straight session.

The EU's largest countries joined a stream of states halting their rollouts of AstraZeneca jabs over blood clot fears, although the World Health Organization said there was no established link to the vaccine.

A third wave of the Covid pandemic is now advancing swiftly across much of Europe, with Italy facing another lockdown over Easter.

White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci pointed to Europe as warning to Americans that letting up mitigation measures early could put the U.S. on a similar course.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) will release its weekly oil report later today, while the Energy Information Administration's data will be out at 10:30 AM Wednesday.