MW: Oil rebounds as U.S. dollar falls; natural gas slides
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Oil futures rose Thursday as the dollar gave up recent gains, while natural gas futures slipped ahead of inventory data.
Oil for May delivery rose 56 cents, or 0.7%, to $81.15 a barrel, recovering some of the prior session's loss.
Over the past week, energy markets have been closely tuned to moves in the currency markets.
The U.S. dollar Thursday fell against the euro, reversing from a major rally in the prior session, following reports that European Union leaders are leaning toward lending support to Greece in conjunction with loans from the International Monetary Fund.
The dollar index (DXY 81.87, +0.03, +0.04%) , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.2% to 81.85.
Also providing support for commodities, the U.S. government reported jobless claims fell 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 442,000 in the latest week.
Natural gas for May delivery slid 12 cents, or 3%, to $4.03 per million British thermal units ahead of inventories data due at 10:30 a.m. ET.
On Wednesday, oil for May delivery, the most active contract, lost $1.30, or 1.6%, to end at $80.61 a barrel in the New York Mercantile Exchange.
