Forexpros - Crude oil futures were higher during U.S. morning hours on Tuesday, hitting a three-day top as the U.S. dollar came under pressure amid speculation that the Federal Reserve may implement a third round of quantitative easing after its policy meeting, which concludes on Thursday. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at USD97.01 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, gaining 0.5%. Prices rose to a session high of USD97.24 a barrel earlier in the day, the strongest level since September 6. Markets continued to eye the outcome of the Fed’s policy meeting on Thursday, amid fresh speculation that the U.S. central bank may announce a third round of quantitative easing to boost growth. Market expectations of a QE3 announcement this week increased after last Friday’s weaker-than-expected jobs report. Past monetary stimulus rounds weakened the U.S. dollar, boosting the price of dollar-denominated commodities like oil. Investors also looked ahead to a closely-watched German court ruling scheduled for Wednesday, on the constitutionality of the European Stability Mechanism. Germany’s approval will be necessary in order to implement the European Central Bank’s bond purchasing program announced last week, dubbed Outright Monetary Transactions. Oil traders were also anticipating fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of oil demand in the world’s largest oil consumer. The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 2.1 million barrels. The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil-consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand. Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery added 0.2% to trade at USD114.53 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD17.52 a barrel.

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