Oil steadies near US$79 before Fed meeting and OPEC+ guidance

​Oil steadied before the Federal Reserve's monetary-policy decision and guidance from producer group OPEC and its allies.

West Texas Intermediate was little changed near US$79 a barrel after gaining 1.3 per cent on Tuesday. While the US central bank is expected to deliver another interest-rate hike at Wednesday's meeting, it's likely to be just half of December's 50-basis-point move as inflation shows signs of cooling.

Traders will also track any guidance from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Moscow. Delegates predict that output will be held steady at a monitoring meeting on Wednesday ahead of a fresh round of curbs on Russian energy that will kick in within days.