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By Bloomberg

Brent crude headed for a third weekly loss this month amid speculation that plentiful oil supplies will buffer the market from unrest in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate was steady in New York.

Futures were little changed in London, down 1.5 percent this week. The broadest Arab-U.S. military coalition since the 1991 Gulf War struck Islamic State targets in Syria, while in Iraq, fighting has largely spared the south, home to three quarters of supply from OPEC's second-largest crude producer. Libya's output has risen to 925,000 barrels a day, according to National Oil Corp.

"Although the conflict in Syria hasn't been completely solved, it looks like the issues are now having less impact on crude prices," Will Yun, a commodities analyst at Hyundai Futures Co. in Seoul, said by phone today. "With ample supplies, we may see a further decrease in prices."

Brent for November settlement was at unchanged at $97 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange at 1:36 p.m. Singapore time. The contract gained 5 cents yesterday. The volume of all futures traded was about 64 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have slid 12.5 percent this year.

WTI for November delivery was 6 cents lower at $92.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 27 cents to $92.53 yesterday. The U.S. benchmark crude was at a discount of $4.47 to Brent, compared with $6.74 at the end of last week.

Gasoline in New York dropped as much as 1.2 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $2.705 a gallon on Nymex. Futures increased 2 percent to $2.718 yesterday, the highest close since Aug. 29.

Syria, Iraq

Brent and WTI are down for a third month and poised for the biggest quarterly loss since June 2012. Aircraft from the U.S., Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates on Sept. 24 attacked 12 modular oil refineries in eastern Syria controlled by Islamic State, U.S. Central Command said in an e-mailed statement. The coalition also included Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar.

In Iraq, more than 190 U.S. strikes that began last month have contributed to militants abandoning some territory seized in June, according to data from the Pentagon. The U.K. may begin bombing within days if the House of Commons approves military action after being recalled for an emergency vote today, said a government official.

Libyan Supply

In Libya, a field operated by Wintershall AG contributed to the expansion in output, Mohamed Elharari, a National Oil spokesman, said by phone from Tripoli yesterday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries member is seeking to sustain a production recovery after a year of unrest.

WTI has technical resistance along its 30-day middle Bollinger Band, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Crude halted climbs since last week near this indicator, at about $93.70 a barrel today. Sell orders tend to be clustered around chart- resistance levels.

Futures may advance next week, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Eleven of 26 analysts and traders, or 42 percent, predict prices will rise through Oct. 3, while six respondents forecast a decline.