WTI Crude Drops Amid Potential U.S. Government Shutdown

West Texas Intermediate crude fell to the lowest in almost three months on concerns the U.S. government is heading for a shutdown over a budget stalemate that may reduce demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.

Futures slipped as much as 1.5 percent in New York, extending this month’s decline to 5.6 percent. The U.S. Congress has one day to end a spending gridlock that raises the risk of the first government shutdown in 17 years. Prices also fell after President Barack Obama and Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani spoke by phone on Sept. 27 about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and the United Nations Security Council approved a plan to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons.