(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil was steady near $98 Thursday morning amid speculation that central banks will opt for further stimulus measures to support their sagging economies.
Minutes from the recent Federal Reserve meeting released overnight showed that the central bank is losing patience with the pace of the fragile U.S. economic recovery. Many members of the Federal Reserve said additional monetary policy accommodation is likely warranted unless the economy improves substantially, potentially opening the door for another round of quantitative easing measures at the next meeting in September.
Chinese PMI data released overnight showed manufacturing activity fell to a nine-month low in August, calling Beijing to speed up economic stimulus efforts. The preliminary reading of HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to 47.8 from 49.3 in July, as new export orders slumped and inventories rose.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for October delivery, gained $0.58 to $97.84 a barrel. Yesterday, oil extended its three-month high on optimism over the euro zone and a weekly oil report from the Energy Information Administration which showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. to have declined more-than-expected last week.
Wednesday during trading hours, the EIA said that U.S. crude oil inventories dipped 5.4 million barrels and gasoline stocks were down 1 million barrels in the weekended August 17. Analysts expected crude oil inventories to dip by 2 million barrels and gasoline stocks to shed 1.25 million barrels last week.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was lingering near a two-month low versus the euro and the Swiss franc, while slipping back to a three-month low against sterling. The buck was surrendering recent gains versus the yen.
In economic news, the euro zone private sector contracted for the seventh successive month in August, flash estimate from Markit Economics showed. The composite output index rose marginally to 46.6 from 46.5 in July. The reading was forecast to remain unchanged at 46.5. The Purchasing Managers' Index for manufacturing rose to 45.3, a four-month high, from 44 in July. The expected reading was 44.2.
Meanwhile, data from Destatis showed that the German economy expanded for the second straight time during the quarter ended June as initially estimated. Gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent sequentially in the second quarter, but down from the 0.5 percent growth seen in the previous quarter.
Traders will look to the weekly jobless claims report from the U.S. Labor Department due out at 8.30 a.m ET, economists expect claims to increase to 362,000 from 350,000 in the previous week.
(RTTNews) - Later during the session, the Commerce Department will release its new home sales report for July. The consensus estimate calls for new homes sales of 362,000 compared to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 350,000 in June.
