Investing.com - Crude oil futures retreated on Thursday to trade near a four-month low, as stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data fuelled speculation that the Federal Reserve may start tapering stimulus sooner than expected.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD96.34 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 0.45%.
New York-traded oil futures fell to a session low of USD96.08 a barrel earlier in the day. The December contract ended down 1.46% on Wednesday to settle at USD96.77 a barrel.
Oil futures were likely to find support at USD95.95 a barrel, the low from October 24 and resistance at USD98.80 a barrel, the high from October 28.
The dollar strengthened after the Chicago manufacturing purchasing managers’ index jumped to 65.9 in October from 55.7 in September. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 55.0 this month.
A separate report showed that that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell broadly in line with market expectations last week.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000 last week.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 11,000 to 350,000 last week from the previous week’s total of 350,000.
The data fuelled speculation that the Fed may start tapering stimulus sooner than expected, after the bank sounded more optimistic than anticipated in its assessment of the economy on Wednesday.
The Fed left its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program in place following its monthly policy meeting and gave no clear indication whether it would start scaling back stimulus at the December meeting or continue it into the start of 2014.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.55% to trade at 80.21, the strongest level since October 17.
A stronger dollar reduces demand for raw materials as an alternative investment and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Traders also remained concerned about rising U.S. inventories and weaker demand in the world's largest oil consumer.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 4.1 million barrels last week to 383.9 million barrels, the highest level since June.
U.S. crude prices have been on a downward trend in recent weeks amid concerns the recent U.S. government shutdown created a drag on economic growth and eroded demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery dropped 0.9% to trade at USD108.91 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD12.57 a barrel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD96.34 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 0.45%.
New York-traded oil futures fell to a session low of USD96.08 a barrel earlier in the day. The December contract ended down 1.46% on Wednesday to settle at USD96.77 a barrel.
Oil futures were likely to find support at USD95.95 a barrel, the low from October 24 and resistance at USD98.80 a barrel, the high from October 28.
The dollar strengthened after the Chicago manufacturing purchasing managers’ index jumped to 65.9 in October from 55.7 in September. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 55.0 this month.
A separate report showed that that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell broadly in line with market expectations last week.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000 last week.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 11,000 to 350,000 last week from the previous week’s total of 350,000.
The data fuelled speculation that the Fed may start tapering stimulus sooner than expected, after the bank sounded more optimistic than anticipated in its assessment of the economy on Wednesday.
The Fed left its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program in place following its monthly policy meeting and gave no clear indication whether it would start scaling back stimulus at the December meeting or continue it into the start of 2014.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.55% to trade at 80.21, the strongest level since October 17.
A stronger dollar reduces demand for raw materials as an alternative investment and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Traders also remained concerned about rising U.S. inventories and weaker demand in the world's largest oil consumer.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 4.1 million barrels last week to 383.9 million barrels, the highest level since June.
U.S. crude prices have been on a downward trend in recent weeks amid concerns the recent U.S. government shutdown created a drag on economic growth and eroded demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery dropped 0.9% to trade at USD108.91 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD12.57 a barrel.