RTN:Crude Eases Back Near $99; Inventories, Inflation In Focus
(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil slipped back near $99 Wednesday morning, paring yesterday's gains, as traders await cues from today's economic data and the official crude oil inventories report from the EIA
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for July delivery were down $0.47 to $98.90 a barrel. Yesterday, oil regained Monday's losses to settle near $100 after strong Chinese industrial production data outweighed fears about slightly higher-than-expected inflation.
Tuesday after the markets close the API said U.S. crude oil inventories declined 3 million barrels, while gasoline stocks rose 1.1 million barrels in the week ended June 10
This morning, the U.S. dollar paring recent losses versus the euro and sterling, while extending gains against the Swiss franc and the yen.
In economic news from the euro zone, industrial production grew by seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent in April from March, Eurostat said. Economists were expecting a monthly fall of 0.2 percent after staying flat in March.
Elsewhere, U.K. jobless claims increased more than expected in May, Office for National Statistics revealed Wednesday. The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance rose by 19,600 to 1.49 million in May. Economists had expected only an increase of 6,500.
Traders will look to the inflation data for May from the U.S. Labor Department. The index is expected to remain unchanged from the previous month, while the core consumer price index is expected to show a 0.2 percent increase.
The New York Federal Reserve will release the results of its manufacturing survey for June at 8:30 am ET. The general business conditions index is expected to increase to 13 after it suffered a 10-point drop to 11.9 in May.
Later during the session, the National Association of Homebuilders will release the results of its June survey on homebuilders' confidence. The housing market index is expected to remain unchanged at 16.
Today during trading hours, the EIA will release its U.S. crude oil inventories report for the week ended June10. Analysts expect the EIA to report crude oil stocks dipped 1.9 million barrels, while gasoline stocks moved up 1.3 million barrels.
