By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures fell on Thursday as the dollar continued to gain ground and rising U.S. inventories underscored worries about weaker demand.
Crude oil for November delivery declined 34 cents, or 0.4%, to $74.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil pared losses, however, after a private group’s gauge of macroeconomic data showed a slight improvement in the economy.
The Conference Board said Thursday its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.3% in August, compared to 0.1% in the previous month. Economists had expected a 0.2% increase. See more about leading indicators.
Natural-gas futures turned higher in late in the morning after the Energy Information Administration reported an increase of 73 billion cubic feet on the nation’s reserves.
Analysts polled by Platts expected an increase of 77 to 81 billion cubic feet for the week ended Sept. 17.
The increase compared to a rise of 66 billion cubic in the comparable week of 2009 and a five-year average of 70 billion cubic feet.
Natural-gas for October delivery rose 8 cents, or 2%, to $4.04 per million British thermal units.
Reformulated gasoline tracked crude oil’s fall. The October contract was down less than a penny at $1.90 a gallon.
Crude oil on Wednesday ended at $74.71, pulling back after the EIA reported crude inventories rose by 1 million barrels last week.
The data ran counter to the expectations of analysts calling for a decline of 1.5 million barrels on the week, according to Platts, the energy information unit of McGraw-Hill.
A stronger greenback also helped dent crude by making the dollar-denominated commodity more costly for holders of other currencies.
The dollar index (DXY 80.06, +0.23, +0.29%) was up 0.2% at 80.02.
