Following a 3.7 percent drop last week, oil was steady on Monday as investors watched for signals of sustained economic growth in the US ahead of a key policy meeting at the Federal Reserve.
US crude for October was unchanged at $73.66 a barrel, while ICE Brent for November rose 12 cents to $78.33.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is due to meet on Tuesday to decide on US interest rates and issue a policy statement about the economic outlook.
No new steps to ease monetary policy are expected but a renewed promise to keep its portfolio from shrinking is planned.
“If they lower their forecasts as some people are expecting, oil prices would be pushed down because it implies lower demand,” said Michelle Kwek, an analyst at Informa Global Markets in Singapore.
The closure of the biggest Canada-U.S. crude pipeline led money managers to increase net-long crude oil positions on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) to almost 114,000 in the week to 14 September, up from below 78,000 the week before.
Distress over jobs and finances intensified among upper-income families, showing US consumer sentiment unexpectedly worsened to its weakest since August 2009.
“The data was poor and sets a very weary outlook for consumers,” Kwek said. “Another major thing is the revival of European sovereign debt concerns”.
The Irish government denied the latest rumours of whether or not it will seek help from the International Monetary Fund. The Irish Independent newspaper had previously admitted the nation was “perilously close” to calling in the Fund and the European Union.
