NEW YORK (Jan 25): Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday ahead of weekly U.S. inventory data on evidence the global market is tightening as lower production by OPEC and other exporters drains stocks. Saudi Arabia's oil output is likely to drop to around 9.9 million bpd in January, according to industry sources and shipping data. The kingdom said it pumped 10.47 million bpd in December. Analysts, however, estimated U.S. crude stocks increased by about 2.8 million barrels in the week to Jan. 20. It is back to levels reached in late 2014, when strong U.S. crude output contributed to a crash in oil prices.

Source: The Edge Markets January 24, 2017 23:20 UTC