LONDON—Oil prices were stable on Tuesday as the market awaited the Federal Reserve’s plans for rate hikes to gauge the impact on the economy and fuel demand.
Brent futures for March were up 15 cents, or 0.19 percent, to $79.80 a barrel by 1036 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 32 cents, or 0.43 percent, to $74.95.
Two U.S. Federal Reserve officials said on Monday that they expected the Fed policy rate—now at 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent—would need to rise in steps to 5.0–5.25 percent to bring higher inflation rates under control.
Fed policymakers said fresh inflation data out on Thursday will help them decide whether they can slow the pace of interest rate hikes at their upcoming meeting, to just a quarter point increase instead of the larger jumps they decreed for most of 2022….