Investing.com - Crude oil futures were higher on Tuesday, as market participants looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in April advanced 38 cents, or 0.77%, to trade at $49.97 a barrel during U.S. morning hours. A day earlier, Nymex oil prices dipped 17 cents, or 0.34%, to settle at $49.59 a barrel.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles rose by 4.0 million barrels in the week ended February 27.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 434.1 million barrels as of last week, the most in at least 80 years, indicating that cheap prices have yet to affect output.
According to industry research group Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI), the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell by 33 last week to 986, the lowest since June 2011.
The number of oil rigs has declined in 17 of the last 20 weeks since hitting an all-time high of 1,609 in mid-October.
Market players have been paying close attention to the shrinking rig count in recent months for signs it will eventually reduce the glut of crude flowing into the market.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for April delivery jumped $1.54, or 2.59%, to trade at $61.09 a barrel, as investors returned to the market to seek cheap valuations in wake of Monday's sharp losses.
London-traded Brent prices tumbled $3.04, or 4.85%, on Monday to end at $59.54 a barrel amid easing concerns over a disruption to supplies from Libya.
The sharp drop continued the trend of volatile price fluctuations, as prices have wavered dramatically over the last several weeks. Daily oil prices have moved more than 2% in an up or down direction in 26 of the last 39 trading days.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $11.12 a barrel, compared to $9.95 by close of trade on Monday.
Oil prices have fallen sharply in recent months as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut output, while the U.S. pumped at the fastest pace in more than three decades, creating a glut in global supplies.