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Brent steadies below $114; euro zone policy eyed

SINGAPORE - Brent crude inched up on Tuesday, b ut prices stayed below $114 a barrel as investors sought clarity on policies to help the euro zone after the European Central Bank quashed speculation about further steps to contain the debt crisis.

Trading is expected to be rangebound as supply concerns stemming from Middle East tensions and maintenance issues in the North Sea offset signs of weak global demand.

“It has to do more with how much money there is to be managed and whether it’s ‘risk on’ or ‘risk off’; the market is reacting more to movements in currencies and stocks,” said Ryoma Furumi, commodities sales manager, Newedge Japan.

“Trading could be choppy, it would lack direction and will depend on what new headlines come out” on the economic front, he said.

Brent crude for October delivery rose 21 cents to $113.91 per barrel at 0507 GMT, after swinging in an almost two-dollar range on Monday.

US crude added 18 cents to $95.97 per barrel.

Asian shares edged up while the euro and gold remained traded in a range as investors clung to hopes of decisive action by the ECB to ease borrowing costs.

Crude futures cut gains on Monday after the Bundesbank and ECB shrugged off speculation on the form of market intervention the central bank might take to contain the region’s debt crisis.

German magazine Der Spiegel said over the weekend that the ECB was considering buying debt issued by member countries if their interest rates became too elevated, but a bank spokesman said it was misleading to report on yet-to-be decided matters.

Middle East tensions

Oil prices remained underpinned by supply concerns triggered by escalating conflicts in Syria and Yemen as well as Iran’s dispute with the United States and Europe.

Adding to worries, production from key North Sea oilfields is expected to fall by about 17 percent in September after Britain’s largest oilfield Buzzard shut and suspended output until mid-October.

“The recovery in North Sea production volumes from the impact of strike action and planned maintenance continues to underwhelm the market,” J.P. Morgan analysts, led by Colin Fenton, said in a report.

Traders are also awaiting the weekly U.S. inventory data expected on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Crude oil stockpiles likely rose by 100,000 barrels in the week to Aug. 17 on higher imports and lower refinery runs, according to a Reuters poll of six analysts, with three expecting a build and three projecting a drawdown.