Oil falls ahead of Fed rate policy announcement
By Yuka Obayashi and Emily Chow
TOKYO (Reuters) — Oil prices retreated further from 10-month highs on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, with investors uncertain when peak rates will be hit and how much of an impact it will have on energy demand.
Prices fell despite a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. oil stockpiles and weak U.S. shale output that indicated tight crude supply for the rest of 2023.
Global benchmark Brent crude futures fell slightly over $1 to $93.33 a barrel, and were last down 80 cents, or 0.8%, at $93.54 a barrel by 0310 GMT. Brent hit $95.96 on Tuesday, its highest since November.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures shed 0.8%, or 75 cents, to $90.45 a barrel, after climbing to a 10-month high of $93.74 a barrel the previous day. The October WTI contract expires on Wednesday and the more active November contract was down 70 cents, or 0.8%, to $89.78 a barrel.
«The oil rally is taking a little break as every trader awaits a pivotal Fed decision that might tilt the scales of whether the U.S. economy has a soft or hard landing,» said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at data and analytics firm OANDA.
Moya added that the oil market is still «very tight» and will remain so over the short-term.
«Unless Wall Street grows nervous the Fed will kill the economy, the crude demand outlook should (only) gradually soften, but the oil market will easily have a supply deficit throughout winter.»
Investors are awaiting a raft of central bank interest rate decisions this week, including one by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday, to assess the outlook for economic growth and fuel demand. The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold, but the focus will be on its
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