MW: Oil drops after data cast chill over demand hopes
By Claudia Assis and Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Oil futures traded lower Thursday after a report showed the U.S. economy grew less than economists had hoped in the first quarter, raising concerns about oil consumption.
Crude-oil futures for July delivery CLN11 -0.81% declined 69 cents, or 0.6%, to $100.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil on Wednesday settled at its best since May 10, rallying nearly 2% as the dollar dipped against major rivals for most of crude’s floor trading.
The dollar retreated on Thursday, but disappointing gross domestic product data prevented any price lifts for oil.
The dollar index DXY -0.37% , which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six currencies, traded at 75.575, compared to 75.847 in late North American trading on Wednesday.
The Commerce Department said Thursday first-quarter GDP grew at the same 1.8% pace as initially expected.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected GDP to be revised up to 2.2% for the period. Read more about first-quarter GDP.
Natural gas for June delivery NGM11 -1.21% declined 5 cents, or 1.2%, to $4.33 per million British thermal units.
The Energy Information Administration is expected to report on natural-gas inventories on Thursday. Analysts polled by Platts expect an increase in supplies between 90 and 94 billion cubic feet for the week ended May 20.
An increase within expectations would be smaller than the 100-Bcf injection a year ago and the five-year-average of 95 Bcf, according to EIA data cited by Platts.
