Crude oil extends gains on Middle East conflict concerns
Published Jun 17, 2013 12:27PM ET
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded up 0.28% at USD98.34 a barrel on Monday, off from a session high of USD98.94 and up from an earlier session low of USD97.62.
Reports that the U.S. will arm Syrian rebels in wake of allegations that government forces have used chemical weapons during the country's internal conflict sent oil prices gaining.
Both Syria and its ally Russia strongly denied the accusations, and while Syria is not a major producer of crude, nearby neighbors such as Iran are, and fears of regional tensions bolstered oil prices.
Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's index of manufacturing conditions in the state came in better than expected in June, rising to a three-month high of 7.8 from -1.4 in May.
Analysts were expecting the Empire State Manufacturing Index to come in at -0.5, which kept prices higher.
Trading was cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting that begins Tuesday.
Uncertainty over the fate of the Fed's stimulus measures has roiled global markets by clouding investors' forecasts of the dollar's strength.
Stimulus measures weaken the greenback, which makes oil a nicely priced commodity in dollar-denominated exchanges.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery were flat USD105.94 a barrel, up USD7.60 from its U.S. counterpart.
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Written By: Investing.com
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