08:45 AM EDT, 04/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices were mostly steady early on Tuesday following two losing sessions as supply remains tight even as Middle East tensions ease slightly.

West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was last seen down US$0.16 to US$86.27 per barrel. while June Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up US$0.02 to US$90.40.

The geopolitical concerns that pushed prices to the highest in more than five months last week have cooled somewhat after Israel removed troops from southern Gaza while ceasefire talks continue between the country and the Hamas militant group. However Israel still plans to assault the city of Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, despite international protests over the prospect of further civilian casualties..

Still, Iran has yet to carry through on threats to Israel's embassies after an attack on its Syrian embassy last week that killed several of its senior military officials, while Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries have pushed up the price of refined products.

"A short-lived deflation of the geopolitical risk premium saw Brent trade back below $90 before gaining fresh strength as tensions in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine conflict continue to trigger supply worries. Prices also underpinned by sign of robust demand after Saudi Aramco hiked its Asian selling price for May (by) $2/bbl," Saxo Bank noted.

Supply remains tight as OPEC+ continues its 2.2-million barrels per day of voluntary production cuts, with the cartel not expected to revisit the reductions until a June ministerial meeting.

The Energy Information Administration will release its influential Short-Term Energy Outlook later on Tuesday morning, followed by monthly oil market reports from OPEC and the International Energy Agency later this week.