* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Oil futures pull back, but risks to sentiment remain
* Stocks edge lower as risks remain
* Focus turns to Wednesday Federal Reserve meeting
By Ritvik Carvalho
LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Oil shed some of its massive
gains on Tuesday as the United States flagged the possible
release of crude reserves, while stocks inched lower as
investors remained on the sidelines ahead of this week's Federal
Reserve meeting.
Investors were non-committal ahead of an expected interest
rate cut from the Fed on Wednesday and the next round of
U.S.-China trade talks on Thursday.
European shares opened lower, with energy stocks giving up
gains as crude prices eased. The pan-European STOXX 600 index
dropped 0.2%. .EU
MSCI's All-Country World Index .MIWD00000PUS , which tracks
shares across 47 countries, was down 0.1% on the day.
Earlier in Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific
shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.66%. Chinese
shares .CSI300 fell 1.07%, while Hong Kong shares .HSI
slumped 1.18%.
U.S. stocks futures were flat to slightly lower ESc1
NQc1 , indicating subdued open on Wall Street later.
Brent crude oil LCOc1 , the international benchmark, fell
0.1% to $68.96 per barrel on Tuesday. On Monday, it surged as
much as 14.6% for its biggest one-day percentage gain since at
least 1988. O/R
U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 futures were down 0.87%
to $62.25 per barrel following a 14.7% surge on Monday, the
biggest one-day gain since December 2008.
Saturday's attack on Saudi oil facilities has halved the
kingdom's oil output, creating the biggest disruption to global
oil supplies in absolute terms since the overthrow of the
Iranian Shah in 1979, International Energy Agency data show.
U.S. President Donald Trump has authorised the release of
emergency crude stockpiles if needed, which could ease some
upward pressure on crude futures. Trump said on Monday it looked like Iran was behind the
attacks but stressed that he did not want to go to war, striking
a slightly less bellicose tone than his initial reaction.
Iran has rejected U.S. charges that it was behind the
attacks. Tension between the two countries was already running
high over Iran's suspected ambitions to assemble nuclear
weapons. The strikes in Saudi Arabia are likely to raise
regional tensions even further.
SPARE CAPACITY
"Although Saudi Arabia's spare capacity and U.S. Strategic
Petroleum Reserves could plug some of the lost output, where oil
trades in the near term will be influenced by how long it takes
for Saudi production to fully recover," said Lukman Otunuga,
research analyst at FXTM.
"It is this concern over negative supply shocks amid
geopolitical tensions which should keep oil prices buoyed in the
short term."
Gold prices were steady at $1,497.48 per ounce. XAU=
GOL/
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR
fell slightly to 1.8292%.
Euro zone government debt yields edged lower as geopolitical
uncertainty stemming from the attack on Saudi underpinned a
cautious tone in bond markets. The dollar was flat against a basket of peer currencies.
.DXY FRX/
The Fed is expected to cut interest rates at a policy
meeting ending on Wednesday, which could put pressure on the
Bank of Japan to ease policy at a meeting the following day.
Trump on Monday said on Twitter that the Fed should enact a
"big interest rate drop, stimulus".
However historical precedent and the United States' changing
energy diet suggest the Fed is likely to stick with an expected
quarter of a point cut and go no further. Futures contracts tied to the Fed's policy rate imply a
64.9% chance that the U.S. central bank will cut its benchmark
overnight lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a
range of 1.75% to 2% on Wednesday.
Trump said on Monday that the United States has reached
initial trade agreements with Japan, but traders are also
focused on the U.S.-Sino trade war. "In the next week, positive developments on Brexit and/or
Iran have the potential to move markets higher from here. It
shows why staying strategically invested in equities is
important," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS
Global Wealth Management.
"But with scope for central banks to disappoint and global
growth continuing to slow, we see little reason to change our
tactically more cautious stance."
Deputy-level talks between the United States and China are
scheduled to start in Washington on Thursday, paving the way for
high-level talks next month aimed at resolving a bitter trade
row that has dragged on for more than a year.