Crude slips as Bernanke offers no signal on stimulus

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U.S. crude slipped 24 cents to $88.98 a barrel by 8.12 p.m. EDT after settling 79 cents higher. Brent crude slipped 57 cents to $103.43 after ending 63 cents higher.

FUNDAMENTALS

Bernanke on Tuesday offered a gloomy view of the economy's prospects, but provided few concrete clues on whether the U.S. central bank was moving closer to a fresh round of monetary stimulus.

Iran is set to arrest a slide in oil shipments in July as China increases imports to a record high to account for more than half of Iran's crude exports and prevent a further slump in Tehran's oil revenues, an industry report said.

Iran said it would insure any foreign ships that enter its waters, in an effort to skirt a European Union ban on insuring ships carrying Iranian crude that has hampered the country's oil exports.

U.S. crude inventories fell more than analysts expected last week, and oil product inventories were mixed as gasoline stocks fell unexpectedly and distillates rose, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday.

The United Nations should keep threatening Syrian authorities with sanctions to "breathe life" into a faltering plan to end the worsening 16-month conflict, Syria's main opposition umbrella group said on Tuesday before a planned U.N. Security Council vote on the issue.

MARKETS NEWS

The euro got a leg up against the dollar on Wednesday after Bernanke said the central bank is ready to support the U.S. economy if needed, though gains were limited as the Fed chief remained vague about specific steps. <USD/>

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday after Coca-Cola and Goldman Sachs joined the growing roster of S&P companies that beat profit forecasts and as Bernanke left the door open to more stimulus. .N

(Reporting by Manash Goswami; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

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