LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Crude oil futures slipped in electronic trade Wednesday, tracking a decline in Asia stocks after climbing above $70 a barrel earlier in the session.
By the Asian afternoon, benchmark Nymex crude for September delivery was trading at $69.12 a barrel on Globex, down from its $69.19 close Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The front-month contract had climbed as high as $70.50 earlier, but it retreated along with regional equities, which also fell back from mostly higher opens to trade generally down.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 Average closed down 0.8% despite early gains, while Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 was off 0.2%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.9% in afternoon action.
Oil futures had rallied 3.6% in U.S. trade Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar fell against most of its rivals, and as Wall Street stocks posted gains, buoying sentiment in the energy market after two days of declines.
