(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil was steady above the $90-mark for the first time in seven weeks Thursday morning.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for August delivery, gained $1.06 to $90.93 a barrel. Yesterday, oil extended gains for a sixth session after an Energy Information Administration report showed oil stockpiles in the U.S. declined for a third consecutive week indicating a pick-up in demand for oil.
Wednesday during trading hours, the EIA said U.S. crude oil inventories moved down by 800,000 barrels and gasoline stocks shed 1.80 million barrels in the weekended July 13. Analysts expected crude oil inventories to shed 1.40 million barrels, while gasoline stocks are seen adding 700,000 barrels last week.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was leveling off from its 2-year high versus the euro and , while ticking lower against sterling. The buck slipped back near a monthly-low versus the yen and moving lower against the Swiss franc.
In economic news, the euro zone current account surplus increased in May following a sharp decline in April, a report from the European Central Bank showed. The seasonally adjusted current account surplus rose to EUR 10.9 billion in May from EUR 5.5 billion in April.
Meanwhile, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed U.K. retail sales increased at a slower than expected pace in June. Including automotive fuel, retail sales grew only 0.1 percent month-on-month, slower than the 1.5 percent rise in May and 0.6 percent growth forecast by economists.
Traders will look to the weekly jobless claims data from the U.S. Labor Department due out at 8.30 a.m ET. Economists expect claims to edge up to 365,000 from 350,000 in the previous week.
Later during the session, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales for June. Economists estimate existing home sales of 4.65 million for the month after sales fell by 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 million in the previous month.
