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Oil prices slip in choppy trading

Monday, September 17 17:24:26

Brent crude futures dipped today, while U.S. crude edged higher, in choppy trading as expectations that U.S. Fed stimulus will boost commodities lent support even as concerns that high prices might curb demand helped keep prices in check.

Brent posted a seventh straight higher settlement and hit a four-month high of $117.95 per barrel on Friday, after Thursday's Federal Reserve launch of a third round of quantitative easing (QE) aimed at strengthening the employment.

Protests continued over a film mocking the Prophet Mohammad that has unleashed a wave of anti-Western sentiment in the Muslim and Arab region, keeping worries about disruptions to oil supplies in focus.

"Any breakdown in law and order in the Middle East or North Africa is potentially bullish for oil as it could impact on production," said Olivier Jakob, energy market analyst at Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland.

The West and Israel's dispute with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program also remained supportive to oil prices.

Brent November crude slipped 54 cents to $116.12 a barrel by 11:11 a.m. EDT (1511 GMT), having traded from $116.06 to $117.02.

U.S. October crude was up 26 cents at $99.26 a barrel, having reached $99.52, but unable to push back over the $100 level. Friday's $100.42 peak was the highest since early May.

Brent and U.S. crude posted weekly gains of more than 2 percent.