Kuwaiti crude up 19 cents to $103.96 per barrel

With an up of 19 cents, Kuwaiti crude oil was trading for USD 103.96 per barrel (pb) on Tuesday compared to USD 103.77 pb on Monday, according to the daily price bulletin of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Wednesday. The oil market is under the influence of forecasts of drop in US stockpiles ahead of the official figures which are due to be published later today. The commodities market also awaits the testimony of US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke before Congress on possibility of slowing down stimulus measures by later this year ahead of total stop by mid 2014, should the US economy show enough signs of recovery. Crude traded for an average USD 106.23 in the New York exchange, peaking at USD 107.15 and hitting a low of USD 105.78 pb. The Brent crude meanwhile sold for USD 108.99 on average.