•-Global crude futures were weaker Tuesday as concerns over US refinery glitches eased and gasoline futures consequently retreated from Monday's rally, sources said. "The futures markets are drifting a little after a strong day on Monday," said a London-based broker. "People are waiting for a reason for it to go up again--refinery snags in the US, geopolitical problems."

•On Monday gasoline futures rallied initially on reports that ExxonMobil had shut a hydrocracker at its 562,500 b/d Baytown, Texas, refinery and Valero Energy suffered a power outage over the weekend at its Houston facility.

•The bullish sentiment on Monday was tempered by news that striking Nigerian workers had gone back to work, but crude futures still finished up on the day.

Updated: June 26, 2007