Summary Traders say the possibility of a wider conflict could interrupt production and shipping routes.
BANGKOK (AP) The price of oil dropped Wednesday after President Barack Obama said he asked U.S. lawmakers to postpone a vote authorizing the use of military force against Syria.
Obama, in a televised speech to the nation late Tuesday, said he wanted to give Syria a chance to turn over its chemical weapons before he asks Congress for consent to intervene in the country s civil war.
Oil prices have been at elevated levels for two weeks following Obama s call for action against the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad in retaliation for what the White House says was a deadly chemical weapons attack against civilians last month.
Syria s surprise announcement Tuesday that it would accept a Russian plan to turn over its chemical weapons stockpile raised the possibility of a resolution to the standoff between Obama and Assad and lowered tensions in oil markets.
Syria is not a major oil producer, but oil traders say the possibility of a wider conflict could interrupt production and shipping routes in the Middle East and cause prices to rise.
Benchmark oil for October delivery fell 33 cents to $107.06 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.13, or 1.9 percent, to close at $107.39 a barrel on the Nymex on Tuesday.
Brent, the benchmark for international crudes, rose 18 cents to $111.43 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
In other energy futures trading on Nymex:
Wholesale gasoline fell 0.4 cents to $2.7316 per gallon.
Natural gas lost 0.1 cent to $3.583 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Heating oil retreated 0.6 cents to $3.061 per gallon.
