European and US sovereign debt fears pressured Brent and WTI, but both found support from approaching tropical storm Don, which is disrupting crude production in the US Gulf of Mexico. Nymex front-month WTI lost $1.69/bl, but Ice frontmonth Brent was almost unchanged, losing only 15￠/bl. Front-month Brent was at an intra-day high of $119.25/bl on 21 July, before hitting a low of $116.53/bl on 26 July, and the contract traded in a tighter range than of late. Front-month WTI was at an intra-day high of $100.62/bl on 26 July and a low of $96.51/bl on 28 July, the day after the EIA reported at 2.3mn bl rise in US crude inventories.
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