LONDON: Oil rose above $48 a barrel on Tuesday, testing the top end of a trading range it has held so far this month, ahead of United States inventory data expected to show a build in crude oil stocks.
Data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) at 2030 GMT will be closely watched later on Tuesday as a preliminary Reuters poll showed analysts forecast a 500,000 barrel increase in domestic crude stocks last week.
US light crude for April delivery rose $1.13 to $48.48 a barrel by 1638 GMT. The contract had settled $1.10 higher at $47.35 on Monday. April crude oil options expire at the end of the day trading. London Brent crude added 82 cents to $47.28.
Oil prices are very much linked to equity markets and economic data at the moment, but we are still really sideways trading in the same range we have been in for some time, said Christopher Bellew, oil broker at Bache Commodities.
The US housing market, seat of fires now ravaging the world economy, showed unexpected signs of life on Tuesday, but analysts warned against any hasty predictions of a sustained recovery.
On Monday, data showed US credit card defaults rose in February to their highest level in at least 20 years, undermining hopes of bank stability. Data on Monday also showed industrial output in the US in February plummeted to its lowest level in almost seven years, serving as a stark reminder that the 14 month long recession was far from over.
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