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* U.S. crude oil futures hit nine-month high
* Market eyes June 18-19 Fed meeting, seeks stimulus clarity
By Anna Louie Sussman
NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil futurestouched a 10-week high close to $107 a barrel on Monday astensions in the Middle East rose, but prices finished slightlylower on the day after a late sell-off in U.S. gasoline futures.
U.S. crude oil hit a nine-month high near $99 a barrel butalso reversed to settle lower, with investors cautious ahead ofthe start of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy committeemeeting on Tuesday. The meeting may provide more clarity on whenthe central bank will reduce its stimulus program.
Brent crude oil futures settled down 46 cents a barrel at$105.47. U.S. crude shed 8 cents to finish at $97.77 a barrel.
Brent's premium over U.S. crude ended at $7.70, on thenarrow end of the $7.50 to $10 range in which it has tradedsince early May.
U.S. RBOB gasoline futures fell more than 1 percent astraders eyed refineries returning from planned work, includingat BP's 405,000-barrel per day Whiting refinery inIndiana.
Investors were cautious before the Fed meeting as ChairmanBen Bernanke may provide more clarity on how and when thecentral bank will reduce its stimulus program.
"People are going to want to hear what's going to come outof the G8 meeting and we also have the Fed meeting coming," saidMark Waggoner, president of Excel Futures in Bend, Oregon.
"They're waiting on the sidelines."
The market was also watching a standoff over the civil warin Syria as President Barack Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putinsought to find common ground at the G8 meeting in NorthernIreland on how to bring Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to thenegotiating table.
Syria is not key to global oil supply, but investors areworried the civil war there could affect other countries in theMiddle East and plunge the whole region into conflict.
Analysts said any run-up on geopolitical risk would soonbump into a fundamental situation of ample supply and uncertaindemand.
"The market's made a big run up here, and it is going torally into a fundamental situation that's oversupplied," saidAndy Lebow, vice president at Jefferies Bache in New York.
"There's a bullish backdrop to this rally, but when you getdown to it, we have almost 400 million barrels of crude" in theU.S., he said.
U.S. crude has gained nearly 7.5 percent since the beginningof June, when it traded as low as $91.26. On Friday, it pushedout of the $90-$97 band in which it had traded since May 1 tosettle near $98.
Brent crude is up 9 percent from its April low of $96.75. Ithas largely traded between $99 and $105 since the beginning ofMay.
The election on Friday of a moderate as Iranian president tempered market worries. Investors waited to see if Iran'sHassan Rohani, who defeated hard-line rivals in the presidentialelection, would help resolve a dispute with the United Statesover Tehran's nuclear ambitions. The dispute has led to Westernsanctions squeezing Iran's oil exports.
Traders were also closely watching for news on Norway'sOseberg field and several adjunct fields in the North Sea thatwere shut early on Monday. Operator Statoil said it wasnot clear when it would restart the fields, which produce nearly120,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil.
U.S. commercial crude oil stocks likely fell last week dueto lower imports, a preliminary Reuters poll of eight analystsshowed on Monday.
