Oil prices fell sharply Thursday, to below $97 a barrel, a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated it could begin to wind down its massive stimulus program later this year, providing the U.S. economy remains on the upswing.

By early afternoon in Europe, U.S. benchmark oil for July delivery was down $1.44 to $96.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the session, it fell as low as $96. The more heavily traded August contract was down $1.46 at $97.02 a barrel.