Oil falls below $50 after 4 percent fall on IEA forecast

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil slipped under $50 a barrel on Tuesday, extending its 4.2 percent fall overnight after the International Energy Agency slashed its demand forecast on expectations of another rise in U.S. crude stocks.

As trading picks up after the Easter holiday, the market will seek confirmation of the IEA’s bearish forecast this week.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) releases its short-term energy outlook later in the day, which will have give an estimate of global and U.S. oil demand for the year, while OPEC publishes its monthly view on Wednesday.

By 10:45 p.m. EDT, U.S. crude for May delivery was down 60 cents at $49.45, after falling $2.19 to settle at $50.05 overnight. ICE Brent crude was down 8 cents at $52.06.

Reuters