Oil edges higher as further ECB rate hikes unlikely
By Arathy Somasekhar
HOUSTON (Reuters) — Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday as a drop in euro zone inflation buoyed hopes that the European Central Bank has almost certainly finished raising interest rates, and offset rising supply from OPEC and the United States.
Brent crude futures for December delivery, were 31 cents, or 0.4% higher at $87.76 a barrel by 12:42 p.m. ET (1542 GMT) ahead of their expiry later on Tuesday.
The more heavily traded January contract rose 11 cents, or 0.1%，to $86.47.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery rose 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $82.55, while those for January delivery rose 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $81.89.
All contracts traded $1 higher earlier in the day, but prices remain below $90 a barrel on weak Chinese economic data and as the conflict in the Middle East remains contained for now.
«I think a lot of the war premium is coming out of the market, and investors are focused on true supply and demand,» said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.
OPEC crude output rose by 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October, according to a Reuters survey, driven principally by Nigeria and Angola.
Meanwhile, U.S. field production of crude oil rose to a new monthly record in August at 13.05 million barrels per day, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday.
However, euro zone inflation was at its lowest level in two years in October, falling to 2.9% from 4.3% in September, according to Eurostat's flash estimate. That means the ECB is unlikely to hike interest rates and will now watch their impact play out before making further moves.
Weaker-than-expected manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity data in China stoked fears of slowing fuel
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