Crude-oil futures traded above $38 a barrel Tuesday as potential production cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries offset expectations of a further rise in U.S. oil inventories.
U.S. stocks rebounded from the previous session, while gold, traditionally seen as a safe haven, slid for a second day after topping $1,000 an ounce last week.
Crude for April delivery was last down 5 cents, or 0.2%, to $38.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Chances are high that OPEC will move again to put through more cuts when it next meets on March 15," wrote Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global. The weakness in the U.S. stock market had weighed on commodity sentiment in the previous sessions, he said.
Crude prices fell 4% on Monday, tracking big losses in the stock market as investors cast doubt on the government's latest effort to shore up beleaguered U.S. banks.
Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil said Sunday that OPEC is likely to reduce output in March, according to media reports. Khelil formerly served as president of the cartel, which is scheduled to convene March 15 in Vienna.
OPEC has already agreed to cut cartel quotas by 4.2 million barrels a day since September, equivalent to about 5% of global oil demand.
Also on Tuesday, March reformulated gasoline rose 2.4% to $1.0684 a gallon and March heating oil added 1.4% to $1.1913 a gallon. Natural gas for March delivery fell 0.1% to stand at $4.093 per million British thermal units.
Supply data ahead
The Energy Information Administration will release data on U.S. petroleum supplies at 10:30 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday.
Analysts surveyed by Platts expect an increase in crude inventories of 2.25 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 20. The analysts also expect a decline of 300,000 barrels in gasoline stocks as well as a drop of 1.8 million barrels in distillate stocks.
"Last week's 138,000-barrel decline in crude-oil inventories will likely be reversed in the latest reporting week by an expected rebound in crude imports and unchanged inputs levels," said Linda Rafield, a senior oil analyst at Platts, in a research note.
Separately, the American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly report on U.S. supplies on Tuesday. The API, a trade association of the oil and natural gas industry, calculates inventories based on different criteria from the Energy Department.
