RN:Crude Slips Near $98 Ahead Of Official Inventories Data, OPEC Quota
(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil moved down near $98 Wednesday morning as traders await cues from official crude oil inventories data and the outcome of the OPEC's meeting.
Traders overlooked a private inventory report that revealed U.S. crude oil stocks showed a sharp, larger-than-expected decline last week as imports fell.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for July delivery were down $0.95 to $98.14 a barrel. Yesterday, oil ended flat amid speculation that the OPEC would raise output in its Wednesday's meeting in Vienna.
Tuesday after the markets close, the API said U.S. crude oil inventories dropped 5.5 million barrels and gasoline stocks eased 161,000 barrels in the week ended June 03. Analysts were expecting crude oil inventories to dip by only 300,000 barrels and gasoline stocks were seen gaining 1 million barrels last week.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was ticking higher versus the euro, sterling and leveling off from its record low versus the Swiss franc, while trading lower against the yen.
Today during trading hours, the EIA will release its U.S. crude oil inventories report for the week ended June 03. Analysts expect a decline of 1.5 million barrels in crude-oil stocks and an increase of 1.1 million barrels for supplies of gasoline last week.
