IV:Oil trades lower following highest U.S. close in a year
Investing.com - Oil futures traded slightly lower during Friday’s Asian session after crude raced to its highest levels in more than a year during U.S. trade Thursday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for September delivery fell 0.08% to USD107.73 per barrel in Asian trading Friday after up 1.25% at USD107.68 a barrel on Tuesday, off from a session high of USD107.82 and up from an earlier session low of USD105.94.
Traders sent oil to the highest settlement for a most-active contract since March 2012 following some strong U.S. data points.
In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits slid by 24,000 to 334,000 last week. The less volatile four-week moving average dropped by 5,250.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s business activity index to 19.8 from 12.5 in June. Readings above zero signal expansion.
The weekly jobs report is the latest sign that the U.S. economy is recovering and that could lead to further upside for oil because the jobs picture is seen as an integral part of crude demand. The U.S., the world’s largest oil consumer, added 195,000 jobs in June the Labor Department said earlier this month.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 6.9 million barrels last week, compared to expectations for a decline of 2 million barrels.
Elsewhere, Brent futures for September delivery rose 0.09% to USD108.86 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
