Oil prices climbed further on Tuesday, propped up by worries over supply disruptions in Nigeria and tensions in the Middle East, while Asian stocks eased to new multi-month lows on concerns about the US economy. Surging energy costs in Asia coincide with signs of a global economic slowdown, a bad omen for a region that relies on exports to help fuel profits.
United Parcel Service Inc, the world's largest package delivery company, warned on Monday that high fuel prices and a sluggish US economy will hit its second-quarter earnings would be below expectations.
Trading was thin, with the dollar and regional bonds steady as investors wait for the outcome of a two-day US Federal Reserve meeting that is widely expected to end on Wednesday with no change to interest rates. The MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan inched down 0.1 percent, after at one point hitting its lowest since late March.
The index has fallen some 17 percent so far this year, reflecting investor unease about inflation and the global economy, as well as fears of more write-downs by financial firms. Asian central banks from China to Vietnam, are being forced to tighten monetary policy, as they grapple with surging energy and food costs, bringing an end to several years of double-digit growth in several of the region's bourses.
Tokyo's Nikkei average closed flat. Shares in Taiwan fell 1.8 percent, while markets in South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore were down less than 1 percent each. But shares in Australia and India rose, while Shanghai's main index gained 1.8 percent.
OIL GAINS US crude futures prices rose for a third consecutive session, up 15 cents at $136.89 a barrel as of 0605 GMT, after already gaining more than $1 on Monday. Oil hit a record $139.89 on June 16.
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