Crude oil prices edged higher in Asian trading ahead of the release of important economic data in the United States on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT).
Markets were cautious as traders waited for the Federal Reserve Bank’s next interest rate decision and outlook statement amid expectations that rates be cut by 25 basis points.
By 2:05 pm AEDT (3:05 am GMT) Brent crude was quoted $0.07, or 0.1% higher at US$73.26 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dipped $0.11 or 0.2% to $70.19 per barrel.
Although the market is discounting a rate cut, traders will also closely scrutinise the Fed’s language following its last meeting of 2024 about the direction of monetary policy in 2025 when Donald Trump takes power with an inflationary agenda.
Also scheduled to be published on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) is oil storage data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a day after American Petroleum Institute statistics showed crude stocks fell by 4.69 million barrels in the week ended 13 December.
Oil prices had eased on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) on the back of weak economic data from China and Germany this week.