Oil prices tread water ahead of Greek vote

Oil prices treaded in place Friday in a cautious market two days ahead of Greeces election that could lead it to exit the eurozone.Crude found support after OPEC left its output unchanged at a ministerial meeting Thursday, as widely expected, analysts said.New Yorks main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, edged up 12 cents to $84.03 a barrel.In London deals, Brent North Sea crude for August delivery settled at $97.61 a barrel, up 44 cents from Thursdays close.The market is really flat as we come into this wild and wooly weekend, said Rich Ilczyszyn at iiTrader.com, referring to New York trade.The Greek election Sunday follows an inconclusive May 6 vote in which no party managed to form a governing coalition.In a close race according to polls, all the top candidates are now calling for various degrees of renegotiation of a European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout deal despite warnings that Greece must toe the line or leave the euro.Rumors swept the market that if the anti-austerity left won the vote, likely leading to a Greek exit, central banks will take coordinated action to ensure liquidity in the global markets.The worst case would be better short term for the oil market because we know central banks would act, Ilczyszyn said.Oil prices also were underpinned by hopes that the US Federal Reserve would step in with additional stimulus measures to bolster the sluggish economy, which is the worlds largest oil-consumer.The Fed will hold a two-day policy meeting that ends Wednesday.