Oil price up after attack on US consulate

Oil traded above $97 a barrel Thursday in Asia after an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya and the killing of the U.S. ambassador there sparked new worries about unrest in the Middle East, AP reported. Benchmark crude was up 4 cents at $97.05 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 16 cents Wednesday to end at $97.01 per barrel in New York. Brent crude was down 8 cents at $115.25 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died after an attack on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi on Tuesday. The attack in Libya came hours after a mob stormed the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and tore down the U.S. flag. Traders were awaiting the end of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting at which central bankers were widely expected to announce new steps to help the flagging U.S. economy. In other trading on the Nymex, heating oil fell 0.4 cent to $3.211 per gallon. Wholesale gasoline dropped 1.2 cents to $2.989 per gallon. Natural gas fell 0.6 cent to $3.057 per 1,000 cubic feet.