After surging to as high as 80.78, crude oil pared gains and settled at 80.31, up +0.6%. Today , the black gold continues edging lower, probably halting the 5-day rally, amid speculations on builds in crude inventory. Others in the energy complex also slide with heating oil dropping to 2.07 from 2.08. The benchmark contract rose to as high as 2.091 Monday. Gasoline stays almost flat from yesterday's close of 2.116.

The US Energy Department will release inventory data tomorrow. Consensus forecasts crude stockpile rose +1.9 mmb while gasoline also increased +1 mmb in the week ended February 19. Distillate inventory is expected to have dropped modestly.

Strong stock market performance in Asia did not carry to Europe. Key European indices such as FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 dipped. Surprisingly, Greece stocks performed the best among its peers yesterday, signaling investors were more relieved about the sovereign risks the country is facing.

In the US, San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen delivered dovish outlook on monetary policy. In a speech yesterday in Dan Diego, Yellen said that 'when the day comes to start raising rates again, we have tools at the ready... for the time being, the economy still needs the support of extraordinarily low rates'. Speculations for an early Fed rate hike diminished after the comments.

Gold price plunged -0.8% to close at 1113.1 as USD remained firm despite the dovish comments. Investment demand for precious metals may stall as the dollar strengthens.

The US Conference Board will report consumer confidence index in NY session today. The index is expected to have slipped to 54.8 in February after rising to 55.9 in the prior month. With stock market pulling back and jobless claims rising in recent weeks, decline in consumer confidence is reasonable.