Crude oil prices are slightly lower Thursday, dragged down by a stronger U.S. dollar after Federal Reserve Chief Janet Yellen's hinted at an interest rate hike as early as next spring.
Data from the Energy Information Administration that revealed U.S. crude oil inventories to have jumped by a more than expected 5.9 million barrels in the week ended March 14, is contributing as well to oil's decline.
Crude Oil futures for April is down $0.34 or 0.34 percent at $100.03 a barrel.
Natural Gas is down $0.08 or 1.81 percent at $4.40 per million btu.
Investors will be looking ahead to data on U.S. existing home sales, jobless claims and manufacturing activity.
