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Oil prices fall before US energy data

Global oil prices dipped Wednesday amid a strong dollar and as traders looked ahead to more testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the latest snapshot of US energy inventories.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in September slid 34 cents to stand at $103.66 a barrel in London midday trade.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for August retreated 49 cents to $88.73 a barrel.

Prices were falling after Bernanke on Tuesday gave a gloomy outlook on the US economy and as he prepared to offer more assessment later Wednesday.

The Fed chief on Tuesday offered a bleak forecast on jobs and growth in the United States — the world’s biggest consumer of oil — and disappointed investors by not clearly signalling that fresh economic stimulus was on the way.

After the US economy grew at a modest rate of around two percent in the first quarter of this year, Bernanke said “available indicators point to a still-smaller gain in the second quarter.”

Despite the gloom, the dollar rose against the European single currency on Wednesday, making dollar-price crude more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies — dampening demand and prices.

Later on Wednesday, the US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) publishes data on American crude oil inventories for the week ending July 10.