--Brent will find it tough to rise above $115.50 a barrel, analyst says
--API, DOE's US weekly inventory figures eyed Tuesday and Wednesday
LONDON--Crude-oil futures were higher Tuesday, aided by a stronger euro amid hopes the European Central Bank will help the euro-zone countries hit hard by the sovereign debt crisis.
Such intervention could boost the economies and, as a result, demand for crude and appetite for risky assets such as oil futures.
At 1046 GMT, the front-month October Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was 66 cents, or 0.6%, higher at $114.36 a barrel.
The front-month September contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which expires later Tuesday, was trading up 73 cents, or 0.8%, at $96.70 per barrel.
"One thing that has been noticeable over the last 18 months is the total disappearance in volatility in the front WTI [or Nymex crude] spread," said Olivier Jakob, managing director of Swiss consultancy Petromatrix.
The volatility in the Brent-Nymex crude spread is not anymore coming from the oil glut in Cushing, Okla., the U.S. grade's delivery point, but from the "Buzzard's dearth", he noted. The Buzzard field is the largest contributer to the Forties crude stream, the main component of Brent.
Oil futures market has been quiet this week as participants watch equities and forex, "as well as keeping eyes peeled toward Syria and the circumstances there," says Dennis Gartman of the Gartman Letter.
A weaker dollar, which benefits dollar-denimonated oil futures, lower North Sea oil output due to heavy September maintenance and tensions in the Middle East keep crude prices elevated amid low trading volume, but Brent will find it tough to rise above $115.50 a barrel, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
With OPEC producing plenty of crude and weakness on the demand side, the benchmark is likely to be below $110 a barrel by the end of the year, said Mr Hansen. He added that near-term support is likely around $112 a barrel.
US weekly inventory figures coming from the American Petroleum Institute, an industry body, later Tuesday and the US Department of Energy Wednesday, are also in focus, analysts said.
At 1046 GMT, the ICE's gasoil contract for September delivery was up $4.00, or 0.4%, at $983.00 per metric ton, while Nymex gasoline for September delivery was 142 points, or 0.5%, higher at $3.0450 per gallon.
-Write to Konstantin Rozhnov at konstantin.rozhnov@dowjones.com
