© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Oil rig pumpjacks, also known as thirsty birds, extract crude from the Wilmington Field oil deposits area near Long Beach, California July 30, 2013. REUTERS/David McNew//File Photo
By Colleen Howe
BEIJING (Reuters) – Oil prices rose in early Asian trading, but price moves were limited as the market waited for monthly reports from oil agencies.
futures for May delivery rose 23 cents to $82.44 a barrel by 0221 GMT. The April contract rose 17 cents to end at $78.10 a barrel.
“Crude oil traded in a tight range as traders await demand estimates from the monthly reports by three key oil agencies,” analysts from ANZ said in a note.
“While we believe the estimates will be largely unchanged, any upside surprise will ease demand concerns,” ANZ said, referring to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the International Energy Agency, and the Energy Information Administration.
Prices had been mostly unchanged on Monday as oil supply concerns tied to ongoing fighting in the Middle East eased.
Israel was checking on Monday if it had killed Hamas’s deputy military leader in an airstrike in Gaza, as prospects faded for a ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. But the war has not led to significant supply disruptions.
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