It has been reported that, crude-oil futures continued to remain stable as the market paused after achieving an 18 month high on Monday. Crude oil trade did not alter much in New York.

The crude oil futures remained stable and this was followed by a report that projected that U. S. crude supply amplified while that of gasoline dropped.

U. S. gasoline supply plummeted by 1.9 million barrels last week. On the other hand, stock of crude oil increased by 1 million barrels. This information was made available by a Bloomberg survey.

Christopher Bellew, Senior Broker at Bache Commodities Ltd. in London, remarked, "The market's pausing for breath after such a big move- up. With the recovery still at a fragile stage, and U. S. inventories ample, we're unlikely to see prices surging to $100."

Statistics show that crude oil price for May delivery remained stable at $86.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12 p. m. London time. It had risen after dropping to a low of $86.13 a barrel.

Comparatively, Brent crude oil for the May delivery was 4 cents higher at $85.92 on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange.