US oil price drops on profit taking

US crude price extended losses on profit-taking Friday after a recent rally powered by the Federal Reserve's unexpected decision to maintain its stimulus program for economic growth. Crude prices surged Wednesday after the US central bank surprised the market by continuing the pace of buying 85 US billion dollar a month in bonds. Economists had expected the Fed to announce a small tapering of its monetary stimulus with the amount of the cut expected to be ranged from 10 billion to 15 billion dollars. With no major economic data coming out Friday, investors are watching closely comments on tapering of quantitative easing from Fed officials. In an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, James Bullard, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, said a small reduction in Fed's monetary stimulus is possible at its October meeting, if the data is strong enough. Oil prices also fell as Syria agrees to surrender its chemical weapons, easing concerns that a potential U.S.-led military strike will disrupt oil supply in the Middle East. Syria will grant international inspectors access to its chemical weapons facilities, and dismantle its chemical arsenal within about a year, President Bashar al-Assad said in a televised interview this week. Light, sweet crude oil for October delivery decrease 1.72 dollars to 104.67 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery gained 46 cents to close at 109.22 dollars a barrel.