LONDON: Oil prices were narrowly mixed on Friday as trading slowed down ahead of the festive season.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery, fell 29 cents to $98.75 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for February rose 21 cents to $110.50 in London.
Both contracts had risen on Thursday as investors read the Fed's decision to cut its monthly asset purchases by $10 billion from January as a sign of the central bank's confidence in the US economy.
"The US benchmark (oil) price has rallied 6.5 percent since the start of the month as commodities and equity indices surge on renewed market optimism on the Fed decision to begin tapering in January," Kash Kamal, research analyst at Sucden brokers, said on Friday.
The Federal Reserve added this week that it planned to continue with its ultra-low interest rates, even after achieving its goal of bringing unemployment to below 6.5 percent.
"The commitment from the Fed to keep its key interest rates low had lifted confidence, garnering support for crude oil prices," Singapore-based broker Phillip Futures said in a note to clients.
Investors had been concerned that a wind-down of the stimulus would hit oil demand outside of the United States.
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