Oil fluctuated

West Texas Intermediate crude fluctuated on speculation that the Federal Reserve will pare stimulus in September and as China’s premier pledged economic growth of at least 7 percent. WTI’s discount to Brent widened.

Futures fluctuated as economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted the Fed will trim monthly bond buying to $65 billion from $85 billion. Premier Li Keqiang said the slowest economic growth policy makers will tolerate is 7 percent, Beijing News reported today. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecast WTI’s discount to Brent will grow amid a U.S. Gulf Coast supply glut.

WTI for September delivery dropped 1 cent to $106.93 a barrel at 10:51 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all futures traded was 18 percent above the 100-day average for the time of day. Front-month futures settled at $108.05 on July 19, the highest level since March 19, 2012.

Brent for September settlement gained 33 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $108.48 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Volume was 2.1 percent below 100-day average. The European benchmark’s premium to WTI widened to as much as $2.73, from yesterday’s close of $1.21. WTI rose above Brent on July 19 for the first time since 2010.