London - Global oil prices diverged on Tuesday, with New York crude weighed down by a US stockpiles glut, while Brent gained slender support from Libyan supply disruptions, dealers said.
New York's main contract West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in December fell 28 cents to $94.34 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for December firmed nine cents to $106.32
a barrel in late morning deals, having struck a four-month low at $105.13 Monday on Libyan output concerns.
Traders are on tenterhooks before publication of the latest crude stockpiles data in top consuming nation the United States.
On Tuesday, industry body the American Petroleum Institute will publish its weekly oil inventory data for the week ending November 1.
And on Wednesday, the US government's Energy Information Administration will issue its official snapshot of crude reserves for the same week.
“Prices are relatively muted,” Teoh Say Hwa, head of investment at Phillip Futures in Singapore told AFP.
“The minimal movement could be due to investors staying on the sidelines before the release of the weekly EIA report which would give them more directions relating to the US stockpiles,” she said.
Crude inventories in the United States have climbed for the past six weeks, to about 28 million barrels, raising concerns about oversupply in the world's largest economy and top crude consumer.
WTI is trading below the $95 threshold after falling for four consecutive sessions last week under pressure from the build up in crude stockpiles, before rising slightly on Monday.
Libyan oil production levels also remain in focus, analysts said.
Talks between Libyan authorities and protesters blockading oil terminals have reached a deadlock after three months, prolonging a crisis that has cost the increasingly volatile country an estimated $13 billion.
The protests have caused an 80-percent drop in production in a country that is almost entirely dependent on oil and gas for its foreign exchange earnings, and which is struggling to impose order after the 2011 revolution that toppled Moamer Kadhafi.
Light Libyan crude is used by refiners in Europe and the sharp cuts to production forced by several months of protests has driven up prices for alternatives like Brent.
“The ongoing delivery outages in Libya are preventing (Brent) prices from falling,” said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.
Security guards from the oil installations have been on strike since the end of July, blockading the country's main terminals at Zueitina, Ras Lanouf, and Al-Sedra in eastern Libya, where the Arab Spring-inspired uprising began.
Estimated unplanned production losses from OPEC countries in October were around 2.3 million barrels a day - almost half of which were a result of Libya, EIA data showed. - Sapa-AFP