http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-falls-below-50-as-rally-apf-14869948.html
With few economic indicators expected on Tuesday, traders turned their eyes to the start of first-quarter earnings season, with aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. scheduled to report after the stock market closes.
Many investors expect dismal earnings pictures for many companies hit by the recession. As the economy slows, so does demand for petroleum products.
"This market moves on the macroeconomic news now," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.
Oil prices jumped from below $35 in February to above $54 last month, brushing aside key indicators that show crude oil supplies building with no real increase in demand.
But the biggest fundamental is money flow, Kloza said, and investors continue to look at the oil markets as a long-term hedge against inflation. Although investors often focus on the current oil contract, the December contract was trading around $60 before it dipped Tuesday morning, he added.
"That's really the yin and the yang of it right now, and I don't know if the yin is going to win or the yang is going to win," Kloza said.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration releases its weekly inventory report Wednesday morning, and the International Energy Agency will follow with its monthly survey and outlook on Friday.
"I think everyone is betting that it's going to be a pretty sharp downward revision in the 2009 forecast," Kloza said.
