Credit: Investing.com - Crude oil futures moved lower in rather choppy trading on Monday as investors eagerly awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to appear in public and clear up uncertainties over the direction of U.S. monetary policy.
Soft European industrial production figures pushed kept U.S. crude prices lower as well.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at USD93.81 a barrel on Monday, down 0.19%, off from a session high of USD94.72 and up from an earlier session low of USD93.41.
The minutes from the Fed's December monetary policy meeting revealed U.S. central bankers may be growing increasingly concerned over the inflationary aspects of the Fed's USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, though members appeared to harbor varying views as to when the Fed should wind down stimulus measures.
Bernanke was due to speak in public later Monday, and investors avoided U.S. oil futures to see if the top economist in the world's largest economy would offer any clarity.
Meanwhile in Europe, official eurozone data released earlier revealed that industrial production among member countries fell 0.3% in November, down for the third consecutive month, missing expectations for a 0.1% increase.
The news helped push down oil prices despite the completion of the Seaway Pipeline expansion project.
The expanded pipeline is now pumping 400,000 barrels of crude a day to Cushing, Oklahoma, from an original capacity of 150,000, which should allow supplies to move across the U.S. faster and tackle gluts, which was bullish for U.S. crude.
Meanwhile on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for March delivery were up 0.08% at USD109.93 a barrel, up USD16.12 from its U.S. counterpart.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
