By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Benchmark U.S. crude-oil futures slipped Thursday, unable to fend off selling pressure as worries about energy demand lingered.
May crude-oil futures CLK3 +1.18% were down 13 cents, or 0.2%, at $86.54 a barrel, extending their 2.3% loss Wednesday following a lackluster weekly energy report from the U.S. government and a climb in the U.S. dollar DXY -0.07% as it benefited from safe-haven bids.
A stronger greenback tends to dull the appeal of dollar-denominated commodities such as oil, as it makes them more expensive to holders of other currencies.
Oil futures traded down Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange to finish with their lowest close since mid-December, according to FactSet data.
The losses came after the Energy Information Administration said crude supplies fell 1.2 million barrels for the week ended April 12. While analysts polled by Platts had expected a 1.25 million-barrel climb, the result was well below the drop of 6.7 million barrels reported by the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday.
The EIA also said distillate stockpiles, which include heating oil, rose by 2.4 million barrels. That compared with expectations for a decline of 850,000 barrels. Motor-gasoline supplies fell by 600,000 barrels, less than the forecast for a decline of 1.1 million barrels.
Prices for May heating oil and gasoline dropped Wednesday following the EIA data, posting declines of 2.6% and 1.9%, respectively.
On Thursday, May heating oil HOK3 +1.50% picked up 1 cent, or 0.4%, to $2.74 a gallon, while May gasoline RBK3 +1.28% slipped 0.1% to $2.72 a gallon.
May natural-gas NGK13 -0.64% — which had been the lone gainer in the energy complex on Wednesday, climbing 1.3% — pulled back on Thursday, trading down 2 cents, or 0.5%, at $4.19 per million British thermal units.
The EIA was due to issue its weekly update on natural-gas supplies Thursday. Analysts surveyed by Platts expect to see a climb of between 33 billion cubic feet and 37 billion cubic feet in supplies.
Carla Mozee is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter @MWMozee.
