Oil prices fluctuate after Brussels attacks

New York, March 23 (IANS) Oil prices fluctuated after a series of explosions in Brussels that killed at least 34 people.

The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery moved down 7 cents to settle at $41.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery increased 25 cents to close at $41.79 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

At least 34 people were killed in explosions at a Brussels airport and at a metro station on Tuesday.

Oil prices fell more than 1 percent after the news, then recovered most of the loss as market saw the crude supply glut to ease.

The US Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release a weekly report of crude inventories Wednesday. Traders expected to see U.S. crude output continue to contract.

Abdallah Salem el-Badri, secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said Monday that 15 to 16 countries from OPEC and non-OPEC will meet on April 17 in Doha, Qatar, to discuss the output freeze.