U.S. crude oil futures gained well over 4 percent on Tuesday amid inflation concerns after a rise in oil and other commodity prices lifted equities markets and caused the dollar to weaken. U.S. natural gas futures rose nearly 3 percent on Tuesday, boosted by stronger cash gas amid the return of weekday industrial demand and with rising crude futures and strength in U.S. equities.

IN FOCUS:

Petrovietnam will import up to 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil for the country's first refinery, Dung Quat, in 2010, a staterun newspaper quoted the state oil monopoly as saying.

Shell Oil Co restarted a crude unit at its 156,400-barrel-per-day (bpd) San Francisco Bay-area refinery in Martinez, California, over the weekend, sources familiar with refinery operations said.

U.S. crude oil inventories fell 1.5 million barrels last week, a preliminary poll ahead of weekly inventory reports showed on Tuesday. Gasoline stocks declined and distillate supplies rose, the poll showed.

Norway's North Sea Statfjord crude oil stream is scheduled to load about 165,000 barrels per day in October, up from 114,000 bpd in September.

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK:

The focus for the day would be on the outcome of OPEC meeting and inventory report by API. It is expected that OPEC will enhance their compliance vigilance on its members related to production quota. This development coupled with any fall in inventory reported may trigger an upside in crude prices.