U.S. crude futures pared losses late in the session after falling as much as 1.3% and closed up 1 cent, or less than 0.1%, to $51.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange—its third straight session of gains. Brent, the global benchmark, finished up 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $57.88 a barrel. Concerns the conflict between Iraqi forces and forces from Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk might crimp supply in the region have supported prices recently, though some investors and analysts said that buying was overdone. On Tuesday, Iraq’s Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi told The Wall Street Journal that production from Iraq’s Kirkuk oil fields, seized by Baghdad from Kurdish forces Sunday, was running as normal. Uncertainty about whether the U.S. will impose fresh sanctions on Iran has also boosted prices of late. Amir Zamaninia, Iran’s deputy oil minister, said Tuesday the U.S. […]