Oil falls ahead of Fed conference

Oil dropped as investors focused on a Federal Reserve meeting that may provide clues about its approach to paring stimulus.futures in New York declined as much as 1.9 per cent on Thursday as the US dollar strengthened, reducing the appeal of commodities priced in the currency.

The Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium will offer insights on how the central bank will ease stimulus, viewed as negative for commodities including oil. Since the Federal Reserve has indicated it is considering reducing asset purchases, “it’s back to worrying about that,” said Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities.

“The rally we saw this week was basically on thin liquidity, and therefore, wouldn’t have lasted anyway.”