Crude falls to two-year low as markets wait on Fed

Brent crude oil has fallen to more than a two-year low following a thinktank's move to cut its forecast for global oil demand, while markets were muted overnight ahead of a pivotal US Federal Reserve meeting.

Having fallen below $100 last week, the price of Brent hit a two-and-a-half-year low yesterday of $96.21, the lowest since July 2012. The slide came as the International Energy Agency cut its forecast for global oil demand in 2015 to 93.8m barrels per day. Weak economic Chinese data indicating a continued slowdown in demand, and a recovering US dollar, also had an impact. Oil has had a turbulent time over the past few months as events in Syria and Iraq hit the oil-producing regions. But the war premium on oil is lessening, and has recently failed to stop downward pressure from lack...