WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures were steady Thursday as focus shifted to the upcoming OPEC meeting in Vienna.
In what will likely be a contentious meeting, Saudi Arabia is expected to push fellow cartel members into raising output. Iran will be on the other side of the issue.
OPEC's press conference will be held at 7 a.m. Eastern time Saturday.
A stronger dollar kept oil prices in check. August WTI oil was down 17 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $65.54/bbl.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari spoke this morning: 'I think maybe it is still too soon to see what long-term effect the tax cut is going to have.'
In economic news, the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing a smaller than expected increase by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of May.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index edged up by 0.2 percent in May after climbing by 0.4 percent in April. Economists had expected the index to rise by 0.3 percent.
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