Oil prices ease as all eyes on US debt ceiling talks

Oil prices eased on Thursday as traders warily watched for signs of progress on talks to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. The main crude benchmarks settled more than $2 higher on Wednesday due to strong April U.S. economic data and optimism surrounding negotiations over the U.S. debt ceiling. A debt agreement needs to be reached and passed by both chambers of Congress before the government runs out of money to pay its bills, which could be as soon as June 1.