Oil declines ahead of Fed rate announcement

Oil prices fell nearly $1 on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, with investors uncertain about when interest rates will peak and how much this will impact energy demand.

Brent crude futures fell 88 cents, or 0.9%, to $93.46 a barrel by 0650 GMT, according to “Reuters.”

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1%, or 97 cents, to $90.23 a barrel after rising to a ten-month high of $93.74 a barrel the previous day.

Investors are awaiting a set of interest rate decisions from the central bank this week, including the Federal Reserve’s decision at 1800 GMT on Tuesday, to assess the outlook for economic growth and fuel demand.

The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates steady, but the focus will be on its expected policy path, which is unclear.

US crude oil inventories fell last week by about 5.25 million barrels, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Analysts in a poll conducted by Reuters expected a decrease of 2.2 million barrels.