Crude oil trades near 9-month high with Syria, Fed meeting in focus

Investing.com - Crude oil futures were little changed near a nine-month high during European morning hours on Monday, as lingering concerns over a disruption to supplies from the Middle East continued to buoy prices. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD98.17 a barrel during European morning trade, up 0.1% on the day.New York-traded oil prices held in a range between USD97.62 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD98.32 a barrel, which is the strongest level since September 17.Reports that the U.S. will arm Syrian rebels in wake of allegations that Bashar al-Assad's government forces have used chemical weapons during the internal conflict sent oil prices sharply higher on Friday.While Syria is not a major oil producer, investors fear that the two-year-old civil war could spill over to affect oil supplies in nearby countries.Market players are also concerned about the involvement of Iran, OPEC's sixth-biggest oil producer.Gains were limited as investors were looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's rate statement on Wednesday amid uncertainty over the bank's next move.Market sentiment took a hit last week amid growing expectations that the Fed will to start taper off its bond purchasing program later this year.Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery added 0.2% to trade at USD106.13 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD7.96 a barrel.
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