By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures slipped in electronic trading Thursday, joining a broader drop across commodity and equity markets, while the dollar strengthened.
Crude for June delivery CLM2 -0.07% lost 13 cents, or 0.1%, to $105.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours.
Oil earlier closed out the North American session 0.9% lower, after a U.S. supply report showed a sixth consecutive week of increases in inventories, and a disappointing private-sector jobs report stoked fears about the outlook for energy demand.
The soft jobs print comes ahead of the more closely watch nonfarm payroll report, due out Friday.
A higher dollar also added pressure, and the currency added to its strength in Asian trading hours.
The ICE dollar index DXY +0.05% rose to 79.204, up from 79.131 in late North American trading on Thursday.
A stronger greenback can discourage investment in dollar-priced commodities such as crude, as it makes the commodity more expensive to holders of other currencies.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
