FX.co ★ Oil Futures Settle Modestly Lower As Demand Worries Weigh

Crude oil futures settled modestly lower on Tuesday as concerns about outlook for energy demand outweighed Russia's decision to halt oil flows along the southern portion of the Druzhba pipeline to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

Traders also shifted focus to Iran nuclear deal talks.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.26 or about 0.3% at $90.50 a barrel. WTI crude futures rose to a high of $92.65 earlier in the day.

Brent crude futures were down $0.19 0r 0.19% at $96/46 a barrel a little while ago.

The revival of the nuclear accord would open the door for Iran to resume oil exports. The European Union said on Monday that it has put forward a "final" text to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

"What can be negotiated has been negotiated, and it's now in a final text. However, behind every technical issue and every paragraph lies a political decision that needs to be taken in the capitals," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted.

"If these answers are positive, then we can sign this deal," he added. A deal could result in Iran boosting its oil exports by around 1 million barrels per day.

Markets looked ahead to weekly oil inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The API's report is due later today, while EIA is scheduled to release its inventory data Wednesday morning.