Oil prices held steady during Asian trade on Tuesday amid mixed data from China, and as the market weighed forecasts of declining crude stockpiles with expectations of a U.S. interest rate hike.
Brent crude was up by 7 cents to $79.38 a barrel by 0425 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 11 cents to $75.77 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell by more than $1 in their last session.
China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly fell in April, official data showed on Sunday, the first contraction since December in the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index.
