2020.07.0719:23:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle Flat

Crude oil futures settled flat on Tuesday as traders weighed the prospects for energy demand amid reports showing a surge in coronavirus infections in several parts across the world, against current and near-term supply positions in the market.

Although the major oil producers are in compliance with agreed production cuts and crude production in the U.S. is coming down, it is feared that another lockdown might result in huge crude inventories and push down prices once again.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August settled at $40.62 a barrel, down just a penny from previous close.

Brent crude futures shed about $0.25 or nearly 0.6% at $42.86 a barrel.

The United States is "still knee deep in the first wave" of the coronavirus outbreak, Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said as 16 U.S. states reported record increases in the new Covid-19 cases, in the first five days of July, according to a Reuters tally.

Florida is again closing its restaurants to indoor dining, gyms and other indoor venues just weeks after they reopened.

U.S. Federal Reserve official Raphael Bostic told the Financial Times in an interview that there are signs that the American recovery is "levelling off".

Meanwhile, traders looked ahead to the data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and Energy Information Administration (EIA). While API's data is due out later in the day, the EIA will release its inventory report Wednesday morning.