Crude oil prices post modest gains in Tuesday trading

April 4 (UPI) -- Emerging signs of the stars aligning for tightening of energy supplies helped pull crude oil prices out of a rut with rallies emerging in early Tuesday trading.

Crude oil prices lost ground Monday as crude oil production in Libya resurfaced following brief disruptions tied to conflict. Libya is among the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries exempt from a deal to curb output in an effort to balance the market.

Prices were moving higher in early Tuesday trading as investors waited for industry reports on supply and demand factors in the United States, the world's leading economy.

A survey of market conditions from S&P Global Platts indicates an expected decline in crude oil inventories of 200,000 barrels from the previous week. With consumer confidence reaching its highest level since December 2000, Platts said gasoline inventories are moving lower as well.

"Increased activity by U.S. refiners following winter maintenance could provide the catalyst for stocks draws that many in the market thought would be accomplished by OPEC supply cuts," Geoffrey Craig, the oil futures editor for Platts, said in a report emailed to UPI.

The price for Brent crude oil was up 0.6 percent about a half hour before the start of trading in New York to $53.43 per barrel. The U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, West Texas Intermediate, was up 0.4 percent to $50.42 per barrel.

The American Petroleum Institute publishes its data on supply and demand factors later in the trading day Tuesday. Official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is published mid-morning Wednesday.

Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst for the PRICE Futures Group, said in a daily newsletter that crude oil prices are trading in a relatively narrow band and that could be reducing the appetite for the investments needed to satisfy future demand. A futures trader worth their salt would see signs pointing to a tighter market.

"Imports to the U.S. are falling and the exports will be rising. Demand for gas and diesel are starting to heat up," he wrote. "Do not be surprised when the glut of oil is gone."