Government data on natural-gas inventories are due later in the session
By Claudia Assis & Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude futures rose above $85 a barrel on Thursday, buoyed by a better outlook for Greece's financial rescue package, the U.S. labor market and a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar.
Crude oil for June delivery, the most active contract, gained $1.85, or 2.2%, to $85.06 a barrel on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil futures stayed higher after the U.S. Labor Department said the number of people filing for unemployment benefits declined to 448,000, in line with expectations.
In the currency markets, the euro gained 0.5% to $1.3266 on hopes Greece, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund will soon reach agreement on a multi-year rescue package.
The dollar index (DXY 82.15, -0.23, -0.28%) , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, declined to 82.10 from 82.293 late Tuesday.
Dollar weakness typically boosts the prices of commodities such as oil, because it makes them cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Crude futures ended higher on Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy was continuing to strengthen and that the labor market was beginning to improve. The Fed also kept interest rates near 0%, as expected.
Wednesday's gains in oil prices came even as the government reported an increase of 1.96 million barrels in crude inventories for the week ended April 23. Stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate crude, also rose.
"While gasoline stocks dropped on improving demand, distillates and total commercial stocks posted strong upticks, firing a warning shot to refiners who would be well-advised to tone down runs given the still-modest demand improvements," said analysts at Vienna-based JBC Energy in a note to clients.
Meanwhile, June natural-gas futures reversed course from early trading to lose 8 cents, or 1.9%, to $4.27 per million British thermal units ahead of supply data from the Energy Information Administration.
Analysts polled by Platts expect an increase in natural gas storage between 72 and 76 billion cubic feet in the week ended April 23. Analysts at Commerzbank expect an increase of 70 billion cubic feet.
"This would be within the range of the average for the past five years, but the surplus 16% compared to the long-term average would still remain," said the Commerzbank analysts said.
