Forexpros - Crude oil futures fell for a second day on Wednesday, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's March meeting reduced expectations of further stimulus measures to spur U.S. economic growth, while concerns over rising U.S. inventories further weighed. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at USD103.49 a barrel during European morning trade, shedding 0.5%. It earlier fell by as much as 0.6% to trade at a two-day low of USD103.43 a barrel. Minutes released Tuesday from the March meeting of the Fed's Open Market Committee indicated that the central bank was unlikely to introduce more stimulus measures to help boost the U.S. economy in the near term. In their discussion of the economy at the meeting, Fed officials thought that the economy was a “bit stronger� but not in a meaningful way. Stock markets, commodities and growth-linked currencies all fell after the minutes were released, while the dollar spiked higher, as markets interpreted the comments as meaning the Fed was less likely to purchase new securities. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.25% to trade at 79.73, the highest since March 26. Later this week, attention will turn to U.S. non-farm payrolls data, which could shed further light on the strength of the U.S. economy and the need for further monetary easing in the U.S. Oil traders have long been taking cues from the monthly jobs report, the most-closely followed indicator of U.S. employment. Meanwhile, oil traders were looking forward to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s closely-watched weekly report on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products later in the day. The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 2.1 million barrels last week to the highest level since August, underscoring fears over a slowdown in oil demand from the U.S. After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories soared by 7.85 million barrels last week, above expectations for a gain of 2.21 million barrels. The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil-consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand. Investors often use manufacturing numbers as indicators for future fuel demand growth. Comments from Saudi Arabia saying that the Kingdom was likely to keep output high even in the event of a strategic stocks release further weighed on energy prices. The market is now balancing Saudi assurances that it would make up for any supply shortfalls against the potential risk for the loss of oil from Iran amid tighter Western sanctions on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for May delivery dipped 0.15% to trade at 124.66 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD21.17, the widest since October. Brent prices remained supported amid prospects of tighter crude supplies from the North Sea region, as well as supply disruption fears in South Sudan and a reported halt of Iraqi oil exports from the Kurdistan region.

Source