By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures turned higher on Thursday after the day's round of macroeconomic data was mixed.
Crude oil for October delivery added 2 cents to $73.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil opened lower but shed some of its losses as macroeconomic reports, while not stellar, didn't paint a catastrophic picture of the U.S. economy.
Traders had to contend with data on the housing and job markets on Thursday, as well as a look at factory orders.
Pending sales of existing homes rose 5.3% after falling two months in a row. Economists had predicted a drop around 1%. Read more about pending home sales.
Initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 472,000 in the week ended Aug. 28. Oil remained lower after the news. The four-week average of initial claims, a better gauge of employment trends, declined 2,500 to 485,500, the Labor Department said. Read more about jobless claims.
Factory orders rose 0.1% after falling two months in a row, but the increase was less than expected and based mostly on transportation orders, the Commerce Department said.
Meanwhile, natural gas also reversed to gains. Natural gas for October delivery added a penny, or 0.3%, to $3.77 per million British thermal units.
Natural gas had traded lower earlier after the Energy Information Administration reported an increase in storage levels within expectations.
The EIA reported that natural gas in storage increased 54 billion cubic feet for the week ended Aug. 27. Analysts surveyed by Platts had expected an increase between 53 to 57 billion cubic feet.
Meanwhile, reformulated gasoline for October delivery was flat at $1.89 a gallon.
