RTT: Crude Edges Down; Official Inventories Data In Focus
(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil eased near $99 Wednesday morning as traders await cues from the official crude oil inventories data, due out from the EIA later during the session.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for July delivery edged down $0.27 to $99.32 a barrel. Yesterday, oil gained nearly 2 percent after Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have increased their oil price forecasts. While Goldman upped its 12- month price target for Brent crude to $130 a barrel from $107, Morgan Stanley revised up its target to $120 a barrel for this year.
Tuesday after the market close, the API said U.S. crude oil inventories declined 860,000 barrels, while gasoline stocks moved up 2.4 million barrels in the week ended May 20.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was trading flat versus the euro, while ticking lower against sterling. The buck slipped to a 3-week low versus the Swiss franc, while ticking higher against the yen.
Traders will look to the U.S. Commerce Department's report on durable goods orders for April, due out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect orders to show a 3 percent drop, pressured by weakness in transportation equipment.
Today during trading hours, the EIA will release its U.S. crude oil inventories report for the week ended May 20. Analysts expect crude oil inventories to decrease as crude imports dropped and refineries demand increased.
