Oil steady after previous session’s slump

London — Oil prices were broadly stable on Tuesday after the previous session’s dip after a flurry of economic data from Germany, the wider eurozone and Britain sketched a bearish picture which could weigh on oil demand.

Brent crude futures were up 9c, or 0.1%, at $89.92 a barrel by 8.47am GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures inched up 4c, or 0.05%, to $85.53 a barrel.

Eurozone business activity took a surprise turn for the worse in October, data showed on Tuesday, suggesting the bloc may slip into recession.

German readings suggested a recession in the country is well under way, while Britain’s businesses reported another decline in activity in October, underlining the risk of recession ahead of the Bank of England’s interest rate decision next week.

Both oil benchmarks fell more than 2% on Monday as diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, the world’s biggest oil-supplying region, intensified to contain the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas on Monday said it had freed two Israeli women, while sources said the US had advised Israel to hold off on a ground assault in the Gaza Strip.

PVM analyst John Evans said: “The disturbing truth [is] that without further conflict, oil’s rally is transient, or at least the rally involving the latest Middle East nightmare.”

In the US, crude stockpiles were expected to have risen last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.

The poll was conducted ahead of reports from the American Petroleum Institute industry group, due at 8.30pm GMT on Tuesday, and the Energy Information Administration, due at 2.30pm GMT on Wednesday.

“We expect WTI to move within the $80-$90 range for a while,” said Yuki Takashima, economist at Nomura Securities.

Reuters