Oil futures rise but so do inventories

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for September delivery added 20 cents to $59.20 per barrel on Tuesday, but it was still off record highs reached in early July due to increased stockpiles and lowered demand forecasts.

Brent crude for September delivery on the International Petroleum Exchange gained 17 cents to sit at $58.04 per barrel after seeing declines earlier in the day. Inventory data due to be released Wednesday by the US department of energy is expected to reveal another 1.7 million barrel increase in distillate stockpiles.

This would be the 10th weekly increase in a row, further easing worries of shortages in the upcoming winter months. Still, Nymex heating oil futures gained 1.64 cents to $1.6230 per gallon. Decreases of 900,000 barrels are expected in gasoline inventories, consistent with summer demand. Crude oil stockpiles are expected to be down by 1.8 million barrels.

Inventories of crude have been depleted by disruptions from a number of recent tropical storms and hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, an explosion was reported at a Russian oil refinery, caused by a pipeline rupture.

It was unclear whether production at the plant, which refines 130,000 barrels of oil per day, had been halted by the event.