LONDON, April 29: IPE Brent crude oil futures traded nervously lower on Tuesday on anticipation of a rise in US oil inventories and forecasts of lower global demand.

By 1646 GMT, front month June Brent futures was down 35 cents to $23.15 a barrel on light volume of 33,078 lots, near session lows of $23.05 a barrel and at the weakest level since mid-November. Prices hovered in a 35-cent range on the day.

The equivalent NYMEX June crude contract was down 24 cents to $25.25 per barrel after losing $3.50, or 12 per cent, since April 21.

Oil stocks in the United States have risen for two consecutive weeks and analysts polled by Reuters predict that data due out on Wednesday will show they rose again last week, reflecting huge Opec exports.

They forecast an average crude stock build of 2.8 million barrels and a 1.6 million build in gasoline inventories.—Reuters