Last week, oil prices rose after government data showed a smaller-than-expected build in domestic gasoline inventories.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday the Calcasieu Ship Channel remains closed but that limited tug and barge traffic has resumed through an intercoastal waterway.

The channel has been off limits due to the spread of oil from a spill last week at the Citgo Petroleum Corp. facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It could remain closed through the end of the week, depending on how the cleanup proceeds, according to Coast Guard petty officer Chad Saylor.

On Tuesday, Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the country does not need negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program, apparently seeking to reassure hard-liners the country will not cave in as it considers a key Western incentives package.

Iran is OPEC's No. 2 producer of oil, and traders are worried about the outlook for those supplies.

Washington has warned Iran that it could face political and economic sanctions before the U.N. Security Council if it doesn't stop its nuclear activities, which the United States and its European allies say is an attempt to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran says the uranium will be used only for a peaceful energy program.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose slightly to $1.9670 a gallon, while natural gas futures rose a cent to $6.120 per 1,000 cubic feet.