Oil prices fell Monday as traders refrained from big moves ahead of a critical meeting of United States central bank policymakers later in the week, the Associated Press reports.
Benchmark oil for July delivery fell 33 cents to $97.52 a barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract for July delivery rose $1.16 to close at $97.85 a barrel on the Nymex amid concerns about a possible escalation in Syria’s civil war.
The Fed has been supporting the US economy by buying $85bn in bonds every month as part of a plan to keep interest rates low and encourage borrowing, spending and investing.
Recent signs of a recovery, however, have raised questions about whether the Fed might start to pull back.
Some investors worry that long-term interest rates could spike when the Fed pulls back, threatening the economic recovery. The Fed will start a two-day meeting Tuesday to discuss the central bank’s next steps.