Investing.com – Crude prices were relatively flat on Tuesday, pausing for breath after rallying to the due to worries over escalating violence between Iraqi troops and Kurdish forces near Kirkuk.
The fighting follows a referendum in which the Kurds, who run their own semiautonomous region in northern Iraq, voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence last month, defying Baghdad, regional powers and the U.S.
futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., held steady at around $57.88 a barrel by 3:30AM ET (0730GMT). It rose to its best level since Sept. 28 at $58.47 on Monday.
Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was little changed at $51.86 a barrel, after reaching a three-week high of $52.37 in the last session.
Investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its at 4:30PM ET (2030GMT) Tuesday.
from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday, amid forecasts for an oil-stock drop of around 4.7 million barrels, which would mark the fourth weekly decline in a row.
Elsewhere on Nymex, shed 0.2 cents to $1.618 a gallon, added 0.4 cents to $1.816 a gallon, while inched up 2.9 cents to $2.975 per million British thermal units.
Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.
Source: Investing.com
