WTI settles in the red near $66.50, eyes on US API inventory data

• Crude oil prices fell for the fourth straight trading day on Tuesday.
• Disappointing macroeconomic data releases continue to weigh on sentiment.
• Investors await API's Weekly Crude Oil Stock data.

Crude oil prices continued to push lower for the fourth straight trading day on Tuesday and the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settled at $66.59, losing more than 1% on a daily basis.

Demand worries drag oil lower

The disappointing Retail Sales and Industrial Production data from China revived concerns over a shaky recovery in global energy demand and weighed on oil prices at the start of the week.

On Tuesday, the data published by the US Census Bureau revealed that Retail Sales contracted by 1.1% in July, compared to market expectation for a decline of 0.2%. Although the Fed's monthly report showed that Industrial Production expanded at a stronger pace than expected in the same period, it failed to help market sentiment improve.

Additionally, Japan announced that it extended the state of emergency through mid-September in several regions and New Zealand imposed a nationwide lockdown until the end of the week.

Reflecting the risk-averse market atmosphere, Wall Street's three main indexes remain on track to register a daily loss of around 1%.

Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the US' shale oil output climbed to its strongest level since April 2020, per Reuters.

Later in the session, the American Petroleum Institute will release the Weekly Crude Oil Stock data. 

Technical levels to watch for