Oil Trades Sideways as Market Seeks Direction

摘要

Oil futures closed narrowly mixed on Tuesday as the market weighed dollar strength against ongoing tension in the Middle East. US President Donald Trump is rumored to be considering Stanford economist John Taylor for chairman of the Federal Reserve. Taylor is more hawkish on fiscal policy than current Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, and this has helped boost the dollar, traders said. A rising dollar tends to pressure oil, as it makes commodities priced in greenbacks more expensive. Meanwhile, easing geopolitical tensions cleared a path lower for crude.