(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil was extending losses for a second session Friday morning as traders were skeptical over the impact of monetary easing measures announced by central banks yesterday.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for August delivery, lost $1.62 to $85.60 a barrel. Yesterday, oil pared gains on a stronger dollar and cues from the European and U.S. equity markets. Oil prices were under pressure, despite a sharp fall in U.S. crude stockpiles for the week ended June 29 as imports fell. Investors were unimpressed with the rate cut by the European Central Bank, while the Bank of England revealed additional stimulus measures.
Thursday during trading hours, the EIA said that U.S. crude oil inventories declined 4.3 million barrels, while gasoline stocks edged up 200,000 barrels in the weekended June 29.
This morning, the U.S. dollar moved back near its one-month high versus the euro and to a weekly-high against sterling. The buck was ticking lower against the yen, while trading flat versus the Swiss franc.
In economic news from the euro zone, industrial production in Germany rose more than expected in May, the latest figures from the Ministry of Economics and Technology showed. Production in Germany climbed 1.6 percent month-on-month in May on a seasonal and calendar adjusted basis. This was faster than the expected 0.1 percent gain.
Meanwhile, output price inflation in the U.K. eased to its lowest level in nearly three years in June as falling prices of crude oil and imported metals allowed manufacturers to reduce charges to cope with weak demand. The output price index for home sales rose 2.3 percent year-on-year, after the 2.9 percent increase in May, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists had expected prices to rise 2.4 percent.
Traders will look to the non-farm payroll report from the U.S. Labor Department, due out at 8.30 .m. ET. Economists expect non-farm payrolls for June to increase by 90,000, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.2 percent. In May, the economy added 69,000 new jobs.
