By Barbara Kollmeyer, Virginia Harrison and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch MADRID (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures rose in a choppy electronic-trading session on Thursday, as traders eyed the outcome of the European Central Bank press conference after it left key interest rates unchanged. Crude for September delivery CLU2 -0.73% was lately up 48 at $89.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The commodity struggled to find direction in electronic trading as investors looked ahead to a much-anticipated European Central Bank later on Thursday. A larger-than-expected supply drop gave oil prices a boost in Wednesday’s North American session. Read more on Wednesday's oil session. European leaders have fueled expectations of bold action, pledging their commitment to keep the currency bloc together. On the day of the gathering, the mood was cautious across commodity and equity markets, amid fears the central bank may fail to meet expectations. The ECB and Bank of England both held pat on interest rates, but traders will be glued to whatever ECB President Mario Draghi has to say at a press conference shortly. There are hopes he will announce the restart of a bond-buying program to help out the beleaguered nations of Spain and Italy. “Although markets have pared back their overly bullish expectations from the end of last week, a lack of action by the ECB to reduce peripheral bond yields will disappoint and lead to a sell off in risk assets…,� Crédit Agricole strategist Mitul Kotecha wrote in a research note. The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP +0.39% stocks and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJU2 -0.39% DJU2 -0.39% DJU2 -0.39% DJU2 -0.39% DJU2 -0.39% added to gains after a German newspaper reported that the ECB will make a coordinated move with the European Stability Mechanism to buy Spanish and Italian bonds. DJU2 -0.39% Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid. Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney. Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.

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