Oil waits for data
Oil prices held firm on Tuesday as traders expected government data due on Wednesday to show another drop in tight US crude inventories.
US light crude futures were down 11 cents at $US31.07 a barrel, within $US1.50 of last week's three-month highs. International benchmark Brent gained 2 cents at $US26.67 a barrel.
Oil prices are up 20% from the same time last year, pushed higher by tight UScrude inventories, which are 12% below 2002 levels.
Department of Energy data due on Wednesday is expected to show that crude stocks fell another 1 million barrels last week, a Reuters poll of energy analysts found.
Analysts also expected a fall in gasoline stocks as summer vacation driving demand gets into gear. Fires at Exxon Mobil and Murphy Oil refineries in Louisiana have also cut gasoline supplies.
Murphy Oil said on Tuesday it expects its 110,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Meraux, Louisiana, will be shut through the third quarter to repair damage caused by the June 10 fire.
Delays in the resumption of Iraq's post-war oil exports have prevented US crude inventories from rebuilding after disruptions in Venezuela and Nigeria ran down supplies earlier this year.
Source: Reuters