LONDON—Crude-oil futures fell slightly in anticipation of a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Friday morning, which is being closely watched for hints on whether the government plans to boost the U.S. economy, the world's largest oil consumer.
The front-month October contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading down 42 cents, or 0.5%, at $84.88 a barrel. The front-month October Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was down 31 cents, or 0.3%, at $110.31 a barrel.
Bernanke's speech at a meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., is "definitely the main economic event of the week, if not the month," SEB commodity strategist Filip Petersson said.
Market participants expect some positive statements, although expectations of strong policy measures being announced have fallen in recent days, Thina Saltvedt, senior oil-markets analyst at Nordea Bank Norge, said.
"There might be slight fall [in oil prices] on some disappointment" if Mr. Bernanke fails to cheer up investors with the monetary steps the Feds wants to make to support economic growth, she said.
There could be "extreme choppiness" in most markets after Mr. Bernanke's speech, "but things should close pretty much unchanged on the session, as we do not see the speech containing enough of a surprise to trigger a sharp move in either direction," MF Global said in a note.
Ahead of the speech, revised U.S. second-quarter GDP figures will be reported, but that will be of less importance to the market than Mr. Bernanke's speech, analysts said.
"[This figures] are about history, while the central bankers' meeting is about future," Ms. Saltvedt said.
Hurricane Irene, which is expected to hit the U.S. East Coast over the weekend, will also be closely watched, as it could potentially disrupt oil-refining operations and distribution in the region.
"Irene is a powerful hurricane hitting a region not really used to such weather events, and whatever Irene has done will be an important price input when the oil markets re-open on Sunday night," Petromatrix said in a note.
