IV:Crude oil futures inch lower as Syria remains in focus
Investing.com - Crude oil futures inched lower during European morning hours on Thursday, as traders remained focused on developments regarding the situation in Syria.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at USD107.40 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.15%. The October contract settled 0.15% higher at USD107.56 a barrel on Wednesday.
New York-traded oil futures held in a range between USD107.31 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD107.93 a barrel.
Oil futures were likely to find support at USD105.86 a barrel, the low from September 2 and resistance at USD110.44 a barrel, the high from September 9.
Oil prices pulled back as the threat of U.S. military intervention in Syria appeared to diminish, easing concerns over a disruption to supplies from the Middle East.
Instead, President Barack Obama said that he will explore a plan proposed by Russia for Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet in Geneva later Thursday to discuss Moscow's diplomatic resolution for Syria.
Oil prices surged to a 27-month high of USD112.22 a barrel on August 28 amid indications the U.S. was close to taking military action against Bashar al-Assad’s government.
While Syria is not a major oil producer, investors fear that the two-year-old civil war could spill over to affect oil supplies in nearby countries.
Countries in the Middle East and North Africa were responsible for 36% of global oil production in 2012.
Market players looked ahead to weekly data on U.S. jobless claims later in the session for indications on the strength of the economic recovery.
Oil traders have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Federal Reserve to reduce its bond purchases.
The central bank is scheduled to meet September 17-18 to review the economy and assess policy.
The Fed’s stimulus program is viewed by many investors as a key driver in boosting the price of commodities as it tends to depress the value of the dollar.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for October delivery added 0.15% to trade at USD110.37 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD2.97 a barrel.
The spread between the two contracts narrowed sharply after data showed that stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex oil futures, fell to the lowest level since February 2012 last week.
