SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures turned higher Thursday as a weaker dollar and pullbacks earlier in the week worked to support prices, albeit modestly.
Crude for May delivery (CLK11 107.76, +0.65, +0.61%) gained 50 cents, or 0.5%, to $107.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
May gasoline (RBK11 3.26, +0.01, +0.39%) rose 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.26 a gallon.
“Overbought pressures have been substantially reduced, and prices are in a much better position to carry on to the upside after effectively relieving a good deal of steam,” analysts at Cameron Hanover said in a note to clients.
In the previous session, oil settled higher, while gasoline rallied 2.5%. Oil benefited from a supply increase that was within expectations, while gasoline advanced on a steep decline in supply.
Investors will be paying special attention to natural-gas futures Thursday ahead of an inventories report. The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release supplies data at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Analysts polled by Platts expect an addition of 31 billion to 35 billion cubic feet to gas-storage stocks for the week ended April 8.
Natural gas for May delivery (NGK11 4.08, -0.06, -1.55%) retreated 6 cents, or 1.5%, to $4.08 per million British thermal units.
The dollar index (DXY 74.72, -0.26, -0.34%) , which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six currencies, traded at 74.909, slightly lower than the previous day. A weaker dollar benefits commodities as it makes them less expensive to holders of other currencies.
