Oil prices steadied on Tuesday, after U.S. futures dropped below $40 for the first time since April, and the overhang of crude and refined products threatened to drag prices lower still. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.1% to $42.20 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were unchanged at $40.06 a barrel. Oil prices fell more than 14% in July as the focus shifted from short-term supply issues back to the massive stocks . “The world is so oversupplied and the pace of rebalance is so slow that even geopolitical factors such as the ongoing civil strife in Nigeria are not enough to offset the fall in prices,” said Gao Jian, an energy analyst at SCI International . SCI -2.02 % The recent uptrend in U.S. oil-drilling activities, Libya’s expected return to the oil-exporting markets, and the […]