Brent crude held steady above $109/B on Tuesday, on hopes that Europe would take future action to tackle its debt crisis, while energy supply worries stemming from North Sea maintenance and Middle East tensions also supported prices. The ECB said last week it may again start buying government bonds to reduce crippling Spanish and Italian borrowing costs, but details of how it will stabilize the bloc’s bond market have yet to be fleshed out (Reuters). Brent crude for September delivery inched 19 cents lower to $109.36/B, while US crude edged down 27 cents to $91.93/B.