Crude oil futures hovered near US$50 a barrel Tuesday ahead of key weekly U.S. petroleum inventory data, which traders expect to show a rise in distillate stocks for a second straight week. Light, sweet crude for January delivery was up 18 cents to US$49.94 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent for January delivery was up 32 cents at US$46.07 on the International Petroleum Exchange. Traders said the latest snapshot from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a statistical arm of the Department of Energy, due Wednesday, would provide direction for the market. Crude prices have been pushed up this year on recurrent concerns about tight global supplies, including possible disruptions in U.S.-occupied Iraq and in Russia, where producer Yukos is mired in a tax dispute with authorities.
