IPE Brent futures stay low; July gas oil prices fall

IPE Brent crude futures clung near session lows yesterday after dropping sharply on Nigerian unions calling off of a week-long general strike, easing concern over possible supply disruptions.

August Brent crude futures were down 46 cents at $27.36 a barrel on thin volume of under 9,000 lots by 1110 GMT, while September futures were down 44 cents to $27.31 a barrel.

"Nigeria is still the main issue in the market today, but it is holding up a bit as some traders are a little short," said one IPE trader.

Front-month Nymex U.S. light crude for August delivery was down 46 cents at $29.67 a barrel in ACCESS trade, losing ground for the second consecutive day.

"Technically the market could go down further but fundamentally it might not, as the reality was the strike did not actually disrupt oil exports at all," said a trader.

Nigeria's crude oil exports have continued to load without delay from the main terminals despite the crippling strike, a leading shipping agent said on Monday.

Traders' attention will now turn to the release of weekly U.S. oil inventories data due out on Wednesday. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration was expected to show a small draw in crude oil stocks, analysts polled by Reuters said.

IPE July gas oil fell $2.75 a tonne to $229.