Oil prices fell on Tuesday after the US government said it would release more crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as mandated by lawmakers, counter to expectations from some traders that the release could be cancelled or delayed.
Brent crude futures fell by 43 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $86.18 per barrel by 0730 GMT, while US crude futures fell by 71 cents, or 0.89 per cent, to $79.43 per barrel.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) said after the previous session ended it would sell 26 million barrels of oil from the SPR, a release that would likely push the reserve to its lowest level since 1983.
