Investing.com - Crude oil futures fell in Asian trading Thursday after U.S. stockpiles unexpectedly rose last week, while Hurricane Isaac appeared to have spared Gulf of Mexico oil rigs and coastal refineries.
Isaac had halted about 93% percent of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production before coming ashore, and while storm surge broke New Orleans area levees, barriers kept the city safe.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at USD95.19 a barrel on Thursday, down 0.31%, off from a session high of USD96.38 and up from an earlier session low of USD94.76.
U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 3.78 million barrels in the week end August 24, beating out expectations for a decline of 1.48 million barrels.
U.S. crude supplies fell by 5.41 million barrels in the preceding week.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 364.5 million barrels as of last week.
Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 1.51 million barrels compared to expectations for a decline of 1.42 million barrels, after falling by 962,000 barrels in the preceding week.
Investors shrugged off upwardly revised U.S. gross domestic product figures.
The U.S. Commerce Department revised its second-quarter growth estimate up two percentage points to 1.7% from 1.5%, which investors viewed as not enough to spark a noted increase in demand for fuels and energy.
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center downgraded Hurricane Isaac to a tropical storm as it headed inland and appeared to have spared the country's oil rigs and refineries.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for October delivery were up 0.12% and trading at USD112.73 a barrel, up USD17.54 from its U.S. counterpart.
Isaac had halted about 93% percent of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production before coming ashore, and while storm surge broke New Orleans area levees, barriers kept the city safe.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at USD95.19 a barrel on Thursday, down 0.31%, off from a session high of USD96.38 and up from an earlier session low of USD94.76.
U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 3.78 million barrels in the week end August 24, beating out expectations for a decline of 1.48 million barrels.
U.S. crude supplies fell by 5.41 million barrels in the preceding week.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 364.5 million barrels as of last week.
Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 1.51 million barrels compared to expectations for a decline of 1.42 million barrels, after falling by 962,000 barrels in the preceding week.
Investors shrugged off upwardly revised U.S. gross domestic product figures.
The U.S. Commerce Department revised its second-quarter growth estimate up two percentage points to 1.7% from 1.5%, which investors viewed as not enough to spark a noted increase in demand for fuels and energy.
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center downgraded Hurricane Isaac to a tropical storm as it headed inland and appeared to have spared the country's oil rigs and refineries.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for October delivery were up 0.12% and trading at USD112.73 a barrel, up USD17.54 from its U.S. counterpart.