Singapore - Oil prices were almost flat in Asia on Wednesday as traders await a US Federal Reserve policy meeting, analysts said, with expectations high that it will unveil a new round of stimulus.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, shed a cent to $97.16 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for October delivery fell five cents to $115.35.
"On the commodity front, oil did very little... although that could swiftly change after (the) Fed meeting", which ends Thursday, IG Markets said in a report.
The Federal Open Market Committee, which starts its two-day meeting on Wednesday, is widely tipped to announce fresh measures to kickstart the US economy by buying up government bonds in a scheme known as quantitative easing.
But just how far the committee will go, and what kind of impact it will have, is unclear, analysts said.
Traders were also eyeing the US Department of Energy's weekly petroleum supplies report due later Wednesday, which will help them gauge demand in the world's biggest oil-consuming country.
And in Europe Germany's Constitutional Court is due to rule on the legality of the European Stability Mechanism bailout fund, with most observers predicting a positive outcome.