Oil prices stabilized on Wednesday as investors await the US Federal Reserve’s anticipated interest rate cut and the potential for more violence in the Middle East. Brent crude futures for November dropped 3 cents to $73.67 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures for October slid 11 cents to $71.08 a barrel.
After Hurricane Francine, both contracts gained by about $1 a barrel on Tuesday due to supply disruptions in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil producer. Traders bet demand may increase following the Fed’s first interest rate cuts in four years.
The market also found support from the expectation of U.S. oil purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), with the Biden administration seeking up to 6 million barrels of oil.
U.S. oil inventory data released on Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute (API) was mixed, with oil stockpiles rising by 1.96 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 13. Still, gasoline and distillate stocks both rose by about 2.3 million barrels.
