Investing.com - Oil prices were down for a sixth consecutive session on Wednesday as investors turned their attention to the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s monthly meeting later in the day.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for delivery in January dropped 1.48% to $55.41 a barrel, not far from Tuesday's lows of $53.94, the weakest level since May 2009.
Benchmark Brent crude was down 0.97% to 59.43 after falling below the $60 dollars a barrel threshold for the first time since May 2009 on Tuesday.
Investors remained wary ahead of the Fed’s policy statement, as ongoing speculation over the prospects for a U.S. rate hike next year have fuelled expectations that the bank may change its forward guidance, and drop the pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time”.
Commodity markets have benefited from the Fed’s monetary easing program in recent years and could come under pressure if it tightens monetary policy.
Oil prices have almost halved since June, pressured lower by a combination of concerns over the sluggish global demand outlook and ample supply.
Last Friday the International Energy Agency cut its global oil demand forecast for next year by 230,000 barrels a day to 900,000 barrels, following similar cuts by OPEC and the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Markets were continuing to digest a bearish inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday as they looked ahead to supply data from the EIA later in the day.
The API report showed an unexpected 1.9 million barrel increase in U.S. oil stockpiles last week.
The consensus forecast was that the EIA report would show a drop in stockpiles of 2.36 million barrels.