Oil slides on waning fears of Syria attack

                        Crude Oil futures slid in the early part of Friday’s Asian session after the U.K. parliament voted against military action aimed at Syria. 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for October delivery plunged 1.42% to USD107.26 per barrel in Asian trading Friday. The October contract settled down 1.18% at USD108.80 per barrel on Thursday. 

While the U.S. and the U.K. have been preparing to attack Syria via missile and air strikes for its alleged use of chemical weapons in its civil war, delays now seem likely due to complaints from U.S. lawmakers that they have not been properly consulted.

Speculation that a U.S. military attack in Syria may engulf the oil-rich Middle East and threaten global supply sent prices gaining on Wednesday, with news reports saying military action was days away. 

After the close of U.S. markets Thursday, the U.K. voted to not proceed with military action against Syria. It is widely expected that France will do the same. However, that does not mean the U.S. will not act alone in its retaliation against, which used chemical weapons against its own citizens. 

Syria headlines overshadowed some strong U.S. economic data. In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the U.S. Commerce Department said U.S. GDP grew 2.5% in the second quarter, well above the initial reading that showed growth of 1.7%. Economists expected the revision to show growth of 2.2%. Consumer spending grew 1.8% after rising 2.3% in the first quarter. 

The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 6,000 to 331,000 last week. Economists expected first-time claims to come in at 332,000.The less volatile four-week moving average rose by 750 to 331,250. 

Strong data points from the world’s largest economy reinvigorated speculation the Federal Reserve will move to begin tapering its quantitative easing program, perhaps as soon as September. That capped gains for U.S. equities. 

Elsewhere, Brent crude for October delivery fell 0.56% to USD113.82 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange. - Investing.com