The price of crude oil was steady near its 16-month high Thursday as risk appetite improved amid hopes the US central bank will maintain its easy monetary policy for the foreseeable future.
Earlier today, the International Energy Agency nudged up its global oil demand forecast for the year 2013 and forecasts demand to grow by 1.2 mbd in 2014.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for August delivery, eased $0.63 to $105.89 a barrel. Yesterday, oil soared 3 percent to end at a near sixteen-month high after an official Energy Information Administration weekly oil report showed U.S. crude oil inventories to have declined more than three times what analysts estimated. Oil also found support with the ongoing political turmoil in Egypt, fueling concerns the situation could disrupt oil shipments through the Suez Canal.
Wednesday during trading hours, the EIA said that US crude oil inventories dived 9.90 million barrels and gasoline stocks shed 2.60 million barrels in the weekended July 05. Analysts expected crude oil inventories to dip by 2.90 million barrels and gasoline stock to shed 200,000 barrels last week.
This morning the U.S. dollar was leveling off from its six-week high versus the euro and a four-month high against sterling. The buck slipped back near its two-week low versus the Swiss franc and the yen.
In economic news from the euro zone, Germany's whole sale prices increased modestly in June after falling for two months in a row, latest data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The wholesale price index increased 0.7 percent on an annual basis in June, reversing decreases of 0.1 percent and 0.4 percent recorded in May and April. Economists were looking for an increase of 1 percent.
Traders will look to the weekly jobless claims data from the US Labor Department due out at 8.30 a.m ET. Economists expect claims to have declined to 337,000 from 343,000 in the previous week.
Simultaneously, the Labor Department will also release its report on export and import prices. Economists estimate a 0.1 percent month-over-month drop in export prices for June, while import prices may have edged up by 0.1 percent.
