Investing.com - Oil futures dropped in the early part of Thursday’s Asian session as concerning inventories data combined with news out of the Federal Reserve to chase traders out of crude.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for August delivery fell 0.83% to USD97.66 per barrel in Asian trading Thursday after settling down 0.15% at USD98.52 a barrel on Wednesday in the U.S. There were multiple culprits behind the declines.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 313,000 barrels in the week ended June 14, confounding expectations for a decline of 544,000 barrels. Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 394.1 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 183,000 barrels, below expectations for an increase of 683,000 million barrels. Those numbers indicate that the U.S. oil boom is helping drives crude stocks higher, but comments out of the Federal Reserve show the U.S. economy may be firming, which could trigger increased demand for oil.
Riskier assets fell after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the U.S. central bank could begin scaling back its USD85 billion bond-buying program later this year and possibly end it next year provided the economy improves.
While the U.S. central bank reiterated its view that interest rates shall remain low, that was not enough to assuage commodities traders that did not want to hear anything about the possible end of quantitative easing.
"The Committee sees the downside risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market as having diminished since the fall," the Fed said in its statement.
"The Committee also anticipates that inflation over the medium term likely will run at or below its 2 percent objective."
Elsewhere, Brent crude for August delivery fell 0.25% to USD105.34 on the ICE Futures Exchange.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for August delivery fell 0.83% to USD97.66 per barrel in Asian trading Thursday after settling down 0.15% at USD98.52 a barrel on Wednesday in the U.S. There were multiple culprits behind the declines.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 313,000 barrels in the week ended June 14, confounding expectations for a decline of 544,000 barrels. Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 394.1 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 183,000 barrels, below expectations for an increase of 683,000 million barrels. Those numbers indicate that the U.S. oil boom is helping drives crude stocks higher, but comments out of the Federal Reserve show the U.S. economy may be firming, which could trigger increased demand for oil.
Riskier assets fell after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the U.S. central bank could begin scaling back its USD85 billion bond-buying program later this year and possibly end it next year provided the economy improves.
While the U.S. central bank reiterated its view that interest rates shall remain low, that was not enough to assuage commodities traders that did not want to hear anything about the possible end of quantitative easing.
"The Committee sees the downside risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market as having diminished since the fall," the Fed said in its statement.
"The Committee also anticipates that inflation over the medium term likely will run at or below its 2 percent objective."
Elsewhere, Brent crude for August delivery fell 0.25% to USD105.34 on the ICE Futures Exchange.