Oil prices remain steady before US data

Oil prices were little changed Monday as traders awaited U.S. crude inventories data for last week. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Energy Department' s statistical arm, will on Wednesday release its report covering U. S. crude supplies of last week. Traders want to find more information about U.S. crude stockpile. Oil prices are under a lot of pressure because of oil supplies are growing and this trend is believed to continue. U.S. crude fluctuated near the lowest level in four months. U.S. crude supplies increased by 4.1 million barrels to 383.9 million barrels for the week ending Oct. 25 due to the strong increase in shale oil production. Investors are eyeing the third-quarter gross domestic product estimates of the United States to be released Thursday, as well as official October payrolls data due on Friday. On the U.S. economic front, new orders for manufactured goods increased 1.7 percent in September, following two consecutive monthly decreases, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Monday. While orders for August, which was delayed due to the government shutdown, slipped 0.1 percent, the department said. Traders also focused on the Libyan oil production, which has been disrupted for several months by the labor unrest. Light, sweet crude for December delivery gained 1 cent to settle at 94.62 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery moved up 32 cents to close at 106.23 dollars a barrel.