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NEW YORK, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Slower second quarter growth in the European economy, coupled with a more measured look at production rumors, brought oil prices lower early Tuesday. Crude oil prices at one point jumped more than 6 percent in trading Monday lightened by the U.S. holiday after Saudi Arabia and Russia issued a joint statement on a need to correct a market characterized by oversupply.
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Oil prices in overnight trading rallied further, but erased the gains by the start of trading in New York. The substantial gains evaporated in response to clarity on certain positions taken by each side. Russian officials said the price for oil was just short of a level considered fair, while Riyadh said that, despite the knee-jerk market reactions to Monday headlines, there was no proposal to freeze production levels currently on the table.
The price for Brent crude oil moved lower by 0.75 percent to start the trading day in New York at $46.48 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark price for oil, was down 0.9 percent to open at $44.02 per barrel.
Despite large gains from Monday, the price for Brent is still lower than the end of August by about 6 percent.
The price for oil has moved in large part in response to market factors that may indicate future trajectory for supply and demand. Oil started the month on a sour note after the U.S. Labor Department reported a short-term increase in weekly first-time claims for unemployment. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, meanwhile, reported a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. crude oil stockpiles.
In Europe, the regional statistics agency reported Tuesday that seasonally adjusted gross domestic product for the countries that use the euro currency increased 0.3 percent during the second quarter, compared with a 0.5 percent gain in the first quarter.
The European economy is charting a course that may have to do without the United Kingdom after a British referendum in June meant a departure from the European Union.
