Brent crude prices fell below US$99, pressured by uncertainty about the fragile economic recovery in top oil consumer the United States after its central bank chief offered few clues about more stimulus measures, as per Reuters. Brent crude for July traded US$1.11 lower at US$98.8 a barrel, after sliding as low as $98.2. Oil on the Nymex dipped by US$1.50 to US$83.3 a barrel.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress offered little encouragement to investors who were hoping the Fed would launch a third round of bond buys, or quantitative easing. Both the benchmarks are poised to remain mostly unchanged for the week. The contracts have slipped for the past five straight weeks. Bernanke said the Fed was closely monitoring "significant risks" to the U.S. recovery from Europe's debt crisis but struck a decidedly different tone from the central bank's No. 2 official, who argued in favor of monetary support on Wednesday. The comments offset support from a surprise interest rate cut by China, the first since the global financial crisis. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|