Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday as investors refrained from making any big moves ahead of a closely watched inventory report and Thuesday’s Thanksgiving holiday. Crude for January delivery declined 41 cents or 0.4% to settle at $93.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In its report, due out on Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration is expected to show that crude oil stockpiles rose for the tenth consecutive week by a further 500,000 barrels. Crude oil was also pressured by expectations that Iran’s sanctions on its oil exports could be lifted by next year. Otherwise US economic news provided a mixed snapshot of the US economy. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence barometer for the month of November fell to the 70.4 level compared to 72.4 in October. In contrast the Case/Shiller Home Price Index rose 13% on an annualised basis, beating forecasts, while building permits jumped 6.2% in October from the previous month, to the highest level since mid 2008. European benchmark January Brent crude lost 12 cents or 0.1% to settle at $110.88 a barrel on ICE Futures Exchange, adding to the previous session’s losses. Trading was lighter than usual as investors continue to mull the short-term agreement Western powers and Iran over the weekend. Among precious metals, gold futures settled little changed on Tuesday, but the weak consumer confidence report and declining dollar provided a short burst of support. December gold settled 20 cents higher at $1,241.40 an ounce in thin trading ahead of Thanksgiving. The more actively traded February contract fell 10 cents to settle at $1,241.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver for March dropped 3 cents to $19.89 an ounce in New York.

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