Oil's Gains Wiped Out

Updated from 2 p.m. EDT

Energy futures finished Tuesday's trading session at the New York Mercantile Exchange mixed after a late-day selloff in U.S. equities spread weakness in to the crude market.

The April contract for oil closed down 98 cents to $57.93 a barrel. Gasoline climbed 2 cents to $1.93 a gallon, and heating oil edged up 1 cent to $1.69 a gallon.

Natural gas drifted 2 cents lower to $6.89 per million British thermal units.

Energy futures were initially bolstered by concerns about tightness in gasoline and crude inventories, but the collapse in the stock markets induced a late-day reversal for energy futures at the Nymex.

Softness in the financial sector led to the fall in U.S. shares, according to Tom Bentz, energy analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures.

Prices for crude oil and gasoline have been vacillating since last week over conflicting signals concerning product supplies. After closing at a high of $61.82 a barrel on March 8, crude slumped during the previous three trading sessions.

Crude oil appeared strong in early action. "The passion is back in the oil markets after disappearing on Friday and Monday," said Phil Flynn, senior oil analyst at Alaron Trading, before the reversal in crude prices. Strength in the gasoline market was the primary catalyst for the move, Flynn said.