LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices nudged higher as traders looked ahead to weekly estimates of US oil stockpiles, while keeping watch on a major US-led military offensive on the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, rose 24 cents to 49.33 dollars in electronic deals.
In London Brent North Sea crude for December delivery gained 17 cents to 46.09 dollars.
Oil prices have fallen by over 10 percent from record summits seen last month as worries about tight winter supplies in the United States diminished following a 10-million-barrel rise in US crude oil stockpiles over two weeks.
Traders were awaiting fresh leads from the latest snapshot of US inventories due on Wednesday from the Department of Energy.
Further rises in crude inventories could send prices lower again, though markets will also be looking closely at the figure for heating fuel, which has been declining ahead of the northern hemisphere's winter, analysts said.
Gerard Rigby, deputy head of trading at China Aviation Oil in Singapore, said the data would be a crucial guide for the market.
"I think basically people are waiting for more direction," Rigby said.
"Technically, (Monday's) trading was weak but it was not breaking any resistance or support level so it's basically trading sideways. It really needs to move up or down for people to enter the market."
Traders were also tracking events in Iraq, where thousands of US and Iraqi troops poured into Fallujah in an all-out offensive to retake the Sunni Muslim city from rebels and restore order ahead of elections promised in January.
Rigby said he thought the military offensive would have no impact on oil prices unless Iraqi oil pipelines were attacked.
In Egypt authorities reopened the Suez Canal, which had been forced to shut for the first time in 30 years after a tanker got stuck cross-wise on Sunday.
11/09/2004 - 11:17 GMT - AFP