WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil futures settled roughly flat on Thursday with traders weighing the likely impact of higher interest rates on growth and energy demand, and data showing a drop in crude inventories.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August settled at $71.80 a barrel, up a penny from the previous close.
Brent crude futures were down $0.06 at $76.59 a barrel a little while ago.
Data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) this morning showed crude inventories in the U.S. fell by 1.508 million barrels in the week ended June 30.
Gasoline stockpiles fell by 2.550 million barrels in the week, much more than an expected drop of 1.417 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped by 1.045 million barrels, as against expectations for a increase of about 0.300 million barrels.
Data released Wednesday by the industry group American Petroleum Institute showed that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 4.4 million barrels in the week to June 30, far more than expectations for a draw of 1.8 million barrels.
Investors now await the all-important U.S. jobs report due on Friday for additional clues on the economic and rate outlook.
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