NEW YORK: Oil fell back below $102 a barrel Tuesday as negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program got underway in Geneva, and US lawmakers tried to hammer out an agreement to raise the government’s borrowing limit and avoid a possible default.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for November delivery was down 93 cents to $101.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 39 cents to close at $102.41 on Monday.

The oil price has swung back and forth for days as lawmakers attempt to resolve an impasse that has left the government partially closed and the markets worried about the US defaulting on its debt for the first time. The US has to increase the amount of debt it can sell by October 17.