Oil Down Slightly After API Data

Oil futures traded slightly lower in the early part of Wednesday?s Asian session following the release of weekly inventories data from the American Petroleum Institute.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for September delivery fell 0.18% to USD105.50 per barrel in Asian trading Wednesday.

Oil traded modestly higher during Tuesday?s U.S. session amid some decent U.S. data points. In U.S. economic news out Tuesday, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing-market index rose to 57 in July from 51 in June. The July reading is the highest since January 2006.

The Labor Department said U.S. consumer price inflation rose 0.5% in June following a 0.1% rise in May. Economists expected a 0.3% June increase. Core CPI increased at annualized rate of 1.6% last month, in line with forecasts and slowing from 1.7% in May.