Oil falls as dollar firms
Oil prices fell on Thursday, giving up early gains, as the US dollar rose against most of its peers.
The Energy Information Administration reported yesterday that the US crude inventories fell 6.4 million barrels to 417.4 million barrels last week, while analysts forecasts a drop by 3.6 million barrels.
The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.4% to 92.9 points as of 17:07 GMT, after hitting a high of 92.9 points and a low of 92.4 points.
Oil prices were recently lifted by fears of supply disruption in the US after Hurricane Ida swept Gulf of Mexico region.
As of 17:05 GMT, WTI crude October futures fell 0.4% to $72.3 a barrel.
Brent November futures fell 0.2% to $75.3 a barrel.
Gold falls more than 2% on rising dollar
Gold prices fell on Thursday, as the US dollar rose against most currencies, lifted by upbeat US economic data.
The US retail sales index rose 0.7% in August, beating forecasts of a drop by 0.7%.
The core retail sales reading (excluding food and fuel prices) rose 1.8%, beating forecasts of a drop by 0.1%.
The US Department of Labor revealed that the number of initial unemployment claims was at 332K last week from 325K, lower than forecasts of 332K.
The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.4% to 92.9 points as of 17:19 GMT, after hitting a high of 92.9 points and a low of 92.4 points.
As of 17:20 GMT, gold spot prices fell 2.2% to $1,755.8 an ounce, after hitting a high of $1,797.3 and a low of $1,745.5.
Dollar keeps gains on upbeat data
The US dollar rose against most currencies on Thursday, lifted by upbeat US economic data.
The US Department of Labor revealed that the number of initial unemployment claims was at 332K last week from 325K, lower than forecasts of 332K.
The US retail sales index rose 0.7% in August, beating forecasts of a drop by 0.7%.
The core retail sales reading (excluding food and fuel prices) rose 1.8%, beating forecasts of a drop by 0.1%.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has ordered an examination of the Fed's ethics rules around investments of central bank officials to avoid financial conflicts of interest.
The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.4% to 92.9 points as of 17:16 GMT, after hitting a high of 92.9 points and a low of 92.4 points.
US retail sales exceed forecasts in August
At 12:30 GMT, the US economy released its reading for the retail sales index , which fell 0.7% in August, beating forecasts of drop by 0.7%, and better than the previous reading of a drop by 1.8% after it was revised from 1.1%.
The core reading (excluding car sales) rose 1.8%, beating forecasts of 0.1%, while the previous reading was at -1%. This data is positive for the US economy.