Summary Oil prices seesawed around $93 a barrel Monday, reflecting uncertainty about US crude stockpiles.
Oil prices seesawed around $93 a barrel Monday, reflecting uncertainty about U.S. crude stockpiles after an unexpected drop last week and what the Federal Reserve might do with its bond purchase program.
The benchmark crude rose 12 cents to $93.21 a barrel in afternoon trading in New York, after hitting a day low of $92.42 earlier. Brent crude dropped 10 cents to $111.21 a barrel in London.
The impact of last week s release of a transcript of the Federal Reserve s December meeting showing that U.S. policymakers disagreed over how long to keep a bond-purchase program in place was still being felt on the market.
Traders inferred the Fed might shorten the program, which could send U.S. interest rates, and therefore the dollar, higher.
That in turn would hurt the price of oil. Oil, which is priced in dollars, tends to fall as the dollar strengthens and makes crude more expensive for investors holding foreign currencies.
The American Petroleum Institute will post its inventory report on Tuesday evening, while the U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its own report Wednesday morning.
