Investing.com - Crude oil futures were lower during European morning hours on Thursday, as worries about the fiscal cliff of looming automatic tax hike and spending cuts kept investors on edge.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD86.33 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.5% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 0.65% earlier in the day to trade at a session low of USD86.25 a barrel.
Investors continued to monitor developments surrounding the fiscal cliff in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise in the two weeks left before the deadline.
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday that "serious differences" remain with President Barack Obama on the budget talks.
President Obama said recently that any solution must include spending cuts and raising revenue, including increasing taxes on the wealthiest. Republican leaders say they will agree to higher revenue, but they want to close loopholes or reduce tax breaks rather than raise rates.
Without a deal, the U.S. could fall back into recession and drag much of the world down with it.
Oil prices remained supported after the Federal Reserve said it would continue to purchase USD85 billion a month of government bonds and mortgage based securities in order to shore up the economic recovery.
The U.S. central bank also said that interest rates would remain close to zero as long as inflation forecasts remain near the bank’s 2% target and until the U.S. unemployment rate declines to 6.5% or less.
Meanwhile, in the euro zone, finance ministers from the region agreed a deal on rules for supervising euro zone banks ahead of a European Union summit later in the day.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery dipped 0.35% to trade at USD107.67 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD21.34 a barrel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD86.33 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.5% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 0.65% earlier in the day to trade at a session low of USD86.25 a barrel.
Investors continued to monitor developments surrounding the fiscal cliff in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise in the two weeks left before the deadline.
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday that "serious differences" remain with President Barack Obama on the budget talks.
President Obama said recently that any solution must include spending cuts and raising revenue, including increasing taxes on the wealthiest. Republican leaders say they will agree to higher revenue, but they want to close loopholes or reduce tax breaks rather than raise rates.
Without a deal, the U.S. could fall back into recession and drag much of the world down with it.
Oil prices remained supported after the Federal Reserve said it would continue to purchase USD85 billion a month of government bonds and mortgage based securities in order to shore up the economic recovery.
The U.S. central bank also said that interest rates would remain close to zero as long as inflation forecasts remain near the bank’s 2% target and until the U.S. unemployment rate declines to 6.5% or less.
Meanwhile, in the euro zone, finance ministers from the region agreed a deal on rules for supervising euro zone banks ahead of a European Union summit later in the day.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery dipped 0.35% to trade at USD107.67 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD21.34 a barrel.