Minute by minute: Federal Reserve policy-makers discussed various risks to the U.S. economy at their December meeting but concluded that the big drop in oil prices was likely to end up boosting growth. The Associated Press reports that minutes of the Fed’s Dec. 16-17 meeting, released today, show that Fed officials believed weakness in the global economy posed some of the biggest downside risks, particularly if it caused turmoil in global financial markets. But the Fed officials believed that, overall, the sharp declines in oil prices would be beneficial to the economy. Read the full story.
Relative calm: The selloff in oil paused today for the first time in five days, with traders appearing to take stock of the market’s rout after crude prices lost nearly 10% over two days and benchmark Brent fell to below $50 a barrel. Reuters reports support for oil emerged after weekly data for U.S. crude inventories showed a surprising drop last week, although gasoline and distillates stocks still rose more than expected. Brent’s front-month contract hovered near $51 a barrel this afternoon, down about 10 cents from Tuesday’s close. Brent hit a session low of $49.66 earlier after the data showing eurozone consumer prices fell by more than expected in December. U.S. crude fluctuated between the upper $48 and lower $49 range today. Read the full story.
Against all odds: Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas suggested today that GOP lawmakers and the White House could negotiate a deal on Keystone XL, a day after Obama administration officials threatened to veto legislation authorizing the controversial pipeline. “Right now, it’s real easy to say I’m not going to sign something when there’s no legislation on his desk,” says Cornyn, who serves as the Senate majority whip. “I’ve been around this place long enough to know there’s things that the president wants and there are going to be things that the Republican Congress wants. And between those two bookends, there ought to be some room for negotiation.” FuelFix.com has the full story.
