Crude oil futures ended lower for four straight day on Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to a surge in cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus. The Japanese government is set to extend COVID-19 emergency control measures to more areas and into September to suppress the fifth wave of infections. Besides, worries about energy demand have risen after data showed China's industrial production and retail sales fell short of expectations in July. Also, daily crude processing in China dropped to its lowest level since mid-2020 last month.
Crude oil futures for September fell $0.70 or 1 percent to settle $66.59 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. October Brent crude dropped $0.48 or 0.7 percent to settle at $69.03 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.