* Euro uncertainty keeps stocks, currencies on edge too
* Middle East tensions, North Sea supply crunch support
prices
* U.S. crude stockpiles seen up by 100,000 bbls: Reuters
poll
(Adds analyst quote, updates prices)
By Ramya Venugopal and Elizabeth Law
SINGAPORE, Aug 21 (Reuters) – 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.
U.S. 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 which has led to an
embargo on Tehran’s crude shipments.
forces loyal to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad attacked a
rebel-held town near the Turkish border, while U.S. President
Barack Obama warned that U.S. forces could move against Assad if
he deploys his chemical weapons against rebels trying to
overthrow him. .
Iran’s crude exports dropped to about 1.1 million barrels
per day in June and July from more than 2 million bpd at the
start of the year, sources have said.
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.
“Looking forward toward September, the seasonal weakening of
refinery demand will likely outpace the lower than expected
crude output due to field maintenance.”
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.A3/4
(Editing by Eric Meijer)
