Investing.com - Crude oil futures moved lower in Asian trade Thursday, as inventories in the U.S. rose last week, further dampening expectations for an increase in demand from the world’s largest energy consumer.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for October delivery traded at USD88.82 a barrel during early Asian trade, falling 0.12%, after hitting a daily low of USD88.66.
In its weekly report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil inventories rose by 5.3 million barrels in the week ending August 26 after a 2.2 million barrel decline the week before. Market expectations were for a 0.9 million barrel increase for the period.
The IEA reported that total crude oil inventories in the U.S. stood at 357.1 million barrels as of last week.
Gasoline inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels with East Coast stockpiles hit hardest as drivers filled up ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irene.
Earlier in the day, payroll processing firm ADP reported that non-farm private employment in the U.S. rose less than expected to a seasonally adjusted 91,000 in August.
The August figure follows a 109,000 gain in July and fell short of market expectations of an increase to 103,000.
Separately, data from the U.S. Census Bureau on Wednesday showed that factory orders jumped 2.4% in July, far exceeding economist’s forecasts of a 1% increase.
Concerns of a slowdown in the global economy and therefore decreased energy demand sent crude oil futures lower by 7.2% for the month of August.
A falling U.S. dollar helped to provide underlying support for oil futures, as dollar-denominated futures contracts tend to rise when the dollar falls.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell 0.05% to 74.17.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for October delivery lost 0.09% to trade at USD114.55.