Investing.com - Crude oil futures advanced in Asian trade Thursday, ending a two-day losing streak on a lower dollar and a report predicting an drop in U.S. oil stockpiles.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for October delivery traded at USD89.78 a barrel during early Asian trade, rising 0.34%, after hitting a daily low of USD89.47.
Earlier Wednesday, industry group the American Petroleum Institute, forecast that U.S. crude oil stockpiles would show a drop of 3 million barrels for last week, far below market forecasts of a 1.9 million barrel decrease.
The institute cited a reduction in imports and disruptions in production in the Gulf of Mexico due to Tropical Storm Lee.
The Energy Information Administration predicted world oil demand would grow “less robustly” due a weaker outlook for global economic growth through next year.
In its monthly short-term outlook, the EIA said it expects world consumption to rise by 1.4 million barrels per day in both 2011 and 2012, slightly down from the last month’s forecast from the administration.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Nate lined up in the Gulf as the next storm to threaten U.S. oil facilities in the region, and could be upgraded to hurricane status by Friday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell to a daily low of 75.48 before rebounding 0.15% to 75.63.
Dollar-denominated futures contracts tend to rise when the dollar falls, as oil future purchases become less expensive for investors who hold other currencies.
On the ICE Futures Exchange Brent oil futures for October delivery rose 0.22% to trade at USD116.14.
The weekly report from U.S. Energy Administration on energy stockpiles was due out later Thursday, where forecasts were for a 1.4 million barrel reduction in crude oil supplies.