West Texas crude settled moderately higher with brent falling on a choppy session as traders measure energy crunch against rising demand risks. Oil futures in New York rose for the fourth straight day in choppy trade as investors assessed how a global power crisis will affect demand this winter. Futures in New York rose 0.2% on Tuesday. Shortages of natural gas and coal ahead of winter in the Northern Hemisphere have prompted some switching fuels such as diesel and fuel oil in the power sector. Meanwhile, rising costs for food and fuel were among the reasons the International Monetary Fund cited as it expressed concern the global economic recovery has lost momentum. “We don’t have a playbook for what happens when natural gas prices in Europe go to the equivalent to $250-a-barrel in crude,” said Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Management. “The market’s trying to […]