Oil prices were down marginally on Wednesday. They trended higher through the European morning following calls from Iran for Muslim countries to stop economic cooperation and oil exports to Israel. They were well off their intraday peaks before the Fed announcement and press conference but took another leg lower following the decision. Even the weaker greenback (USD index -0.2%) didn’t provide support.

• Brent held above $84.50 but finished 0.2% lower at $84.86/bbl. It reached a high of $87.24 during European trade but then trended lower after that to a low of $84.58. The level to watch is $84.09, October 11 low, and then there’s key support at $82.20.
• WTI traded above $80 yesterday but fell 0.2% to $80.90/bbl following a high of $83.42. It is now hovering above the 100-day simple moving average and approaching key support at $80.20, October 6 low.
• The increase in EIA reported US crude inventories of 773kbd, helped by a pickup in imports, also put downward pressure on oil prices. Gasoline demand was lower and stocks rose 65kbd. Distillate fell 792kbd. Refining utilisation fell 0.2pp to 85.4%.