(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil was ticking lower Wednesday morning as traders await cues from the official inventories data and the private sector employment report due our later today.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for June delivery, eased $0.49 to $105.67 a barrel. Yesterday, oil rallied to settle at a five-week high on some encouraging manufacturing data from the U.S., notwithstanding a strong dollar and continued concerns over the euro zone sovereign debt situation.
Tuesday after the market hours, the API said US crude oil inventories rose 2 million barrels, while gasoline stocks shed 3.90 million barrels in the week ended April 27.
This morning, the U.S. dollar moved up near a two-week high versus the euro and the Swiss franc, while leveling off from a 7-month low against sterling. The buck continued to bounce back from its 2-month low versus the yen.
In economic mews, unemployment rate in euro area increased to new record high in March, the latest figures from Eurostat revealed. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 10.9 percent in March from 10.8 percent in February. The outcome was in line expectations. In March 2011, the rate was 9.9 percent. In March, the number of unemployed in euro area increased by 169,000 from a month earlier to 17.365 million.
Unemployment in Germany rose unexpectedly in April suggesting that the economy may have lost momentum after the euro area debt crisis intensified with Spain assuming the center stage amid renewed tensions in the region. The Federal Labor Agency said that the number of unemployed persons in the country rose by 19,000 from a month earlier to 2.875 million in April, after adjusting for seasonal variations.
Traders will look to the private sector employment report from the ADP, due out at 8.15 a.m. ET. Economists expect for 183,000 job additions by the sector in April following an addition of 209,000 jobs in March.
Later during the session, the Commerce Department will release its report on factory goods orders for March. Economists estimate a 1.6 percent drop in orders for factory goods following a 1.3 percent increase in the previous month. Meanwhile, durable goods orders, which make up the bulk of factory orders, fell 4.2 percent month-over-month in March, with transportation orders serving as a drag.
Today during trading hours, the EIA will release its US crude inventories data for the week ended April 27. Analysts expect crude oil inventories to gain 2.50 million barrels, while gasoline stocks are seen dipping by 1 million barrels last week.
