Crude Prices Edge Ahead

Updated from 1:16 p.m. EST

Fuel prices were narrowly mixed Tuesday as traders generally avoided making big bets ahead the upcoming data on petroleum inventories.

At the end of Tuesday's trading session, light, sweet crude oil futures were up 14 cents to $58.88 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline was up 1 cent to $1.57.

Natural gas was down 2 cents to $7.62 per million British thermal units, and heating oil was down about 1 cent to $1.68 a gallon.

Abnormally low temperatures across the country have increased the amount of fossil fuels required for heating purposes. The arctic temperatures are expected to remain steady throughout the week.

The effect that these temperatures have on the country's fuel stores will become clearer when the Energy Information Agency releases its storage reports later this week. The EIA crude oil report, which includes distillates such as heating oil, will be released Wednesday. The agency's report on natural gas reserves will be released Thursday.

Crude prices have hovered below the $60 mark since early Monday. Analysts are predicting that high withdrawal numbers in this week's EIA storage reports will likely push the price of crude above the $60 level.

Edward Meir, energy analyst at Man Financial in New York, writes in a research report that "if the markets do not rally on an in-line, or a higher-than-expected distillate draw, this could be a sign of an intermediate top."

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