Crude-oil futures were stable in Asian trading hours Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and a final reading on U.S. oil inventories due later in the day. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at $81.71 a barrel at 0504 GMT, up $0.29 in the Globex electronic session. December Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.39 to $86.42 a barrel. Most investors were on the sidelines as the Federal Open Market Committee’s statement is expected to set the tone in wider financial and commodity markets. The vast majority of analysts expects the Fed to finish its tapering program and should help anchor sentiment for Asian markets today, Singapore’s OCBC Bank said. Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, said U.S. crude stockpiles rose 3.2 million barrels last week. The more closely-watched inventory […]