Investing.com – Crude oil futures were down on Thursday, slumping to a two-day low as lingering concerns over the global economic outlook weighed on future oil-demand expectations, while a stronger U.S. dollar also weighed.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at USD86.41 a barrel during European morning trade, dropping 1.4%.
It earlier fell as much as 1.5% to trade at USD86.31 a barrel, the lowest since August 16.
Concerns over the economic outlook for the euro zone were underscored after European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said that he was more concerned about entering a phase of slow growth and low inflation than the risks posed by high inflation.
Nowotny added that growth in the U.S. was likely to continue, albeit at a more modest pace than previously expected.
Meanwhile, global financial service providers Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley cut their forecast for Chinese economic growth, while Morgan Stanley also lowered its outlook for global growth, citing an “insufficient policy response to Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, weakened confidence and the prospect of fiscal tightening”.
Weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released Wednesday painted a mixed picture of energy demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 4.2 million barrels last week, confounding expectations for a 0.5 million barrel decline, while motor gasoline inventories declined by 3.5 million barrels, outstripping expectations for a 2.0 million barrel withdrawal.
Strength in the U.S. dollar also weighed, as the dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.3% to hit 74.03.
Dollar-denominated oil futures contracts tend to rise when the dollar falls, as this makes oil cheaper for buyers in other currencies.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for October delivery retreated 1.3% to trade at USD109.25 a barrel, up USD22.84 on its U.S. counterpart.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a flurry of economic data, which will help traders gauge the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
The country was to produce government reports on initial jobless claims, consumer price inflation, existing home sales, manufacturing activity in Philadelphia as well as a report on natural gas stockpiles.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at USD86.41 a barrel during European morning trade, dropping 1.4%.
It earlier fell as much as 1.5% to trade at USD86.31 a barrel, the lowest since August 16.
Concerns over the economic outlook for the euro zone were underscored after European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said that he was more concerned about entering a phase of slow growth and low inflation than the risks posed by high inflation.
Nowotny added that growth in the U.S. was likely to continue, albeit at a more modest pace than previously expected.
Meanwhile, global financial service providers Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley cut their forecast for Chinese economic growth, while Morgan Stanley also lowered its outlook for global growth, citing an “insufficient policy response to Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, weakened confidence and the prospect of fiscal tightening”.
Weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released Wednesday painted a mixed picture of energy demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 4.2 million barrels last week, confounding expectations for a 0.5 million barrel decline, while motor gasoline inventories declined by 3.5 million barrels, outstripping expectations for a 2.0 million barrel withdrawal.
Strength in the U.S. dollar also weighed, as the dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.3% to hit 74.03.
Dollar-denominated oil futures contracts tend to rise when the dollar falls, as this makes oil cheaper for buyers in other currencies.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for October delivery retreated 1.3% to trade at USD109.25 a barrel, up USD22.84 on its U.S. counterpart.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a flurry of economic data, which will help traders gauge the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
The country was to produce government reports on initial jobless claims, consumer price inflation, existing home sales, manufacturing activity in Philadelphia as well as a report on natural gas stockpiles.