Oil fell for the first time in six days on concern that U.S. lawmakers will fail to avert a fiscal crisis after House Republican leaders canceled a planned vote on higher taxes for top earners, Bloomberg reported.
Prices tumbled as much as 2.3% after House Speaker John Boehner scrapped a plan yesterday to allow higher tax rates on annual income above $1 million, yielding to anti-tax resistance within his own party. More than $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases are set to start in the U.S. in January unless an agreement is reached.
West Texas Intermediate oil for February delivery fell $1.40, or 1.6%, to $88.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures are up 2.3% this week.
Brent for February settlement slid 84 cents, or 0.8%, to $109.36 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
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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.
