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U.S. oil price edges down amid Fed stimulus uncertainty

25 May 2013 01:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. U.S. Oil price dropped slightly Friday as traders were concerned that the U.S. Federal Reserve will scale back its stimulus program, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

On the economic front, new orders for the U.S. manufactured durable goods in April rose 3.3 percent to 222.6 billion U.S. dollars, led by strong demand for defense and non-defense aircraft, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Durable goods orders in March were revised up to a 5.9-percent decline, according to the department.

The better-than-expected U.S. durable goods data sparked speculation that the Federal Reserve will draw back stimulus efforts early.

Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke said in testimony to Congress Wednesday that the bond-buying program would remain in place for now. But he also gave hints that the U.S. central bank may wind down its bond-purchasing pace at its next few meetings if the economy does better.

The ample supplies of the United States continued to weigh on the oil prices. The U.S. crude supplies slipped 338,000 barrels to 394.6 million last week, according to the Energy Information Agency, less than half as much as predicted.

Traders worried that U.S. crude supplies will be sufficient to meet summer demand as global economic growth weakens.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery lost 10 cents, to settle at 94.15 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent for July delivery went up 20 cents, or 0.19 percent, to close at 102.64 dollars a barrel.