Oil pares gains after US inventories data
Oil prices rose on Thursday, as the US dollar fell against most majors, which eased pressure on commodities, but oil prices pared gains after the release of US inventories data.
The Energy Information Administration reported today that the US crude inventories rose 6.1 million barrels to 427 million barrels during the past week, while analysts forecast a drop by 0.5 million barrels.
While the American Petroleum Institute reported yesterday in preliminary data that the US crude inventories rose 5.2 million barrels during the same period.
The dollar index fell against a basket of major currencies by 0.1% to 93.9 points as of 16:08 GMT, after hitting a high of 94.09 points and a low of 93.7 points.
As of 16:00 GMT, WTI crude November futures rose 0.6% to $80.9 a barrel.
Brent December futures rose 0.7% to $83.7 a barrel.
US crude inventories rise over 6 million barrels
The Energy Information Administration reported today that the US crude inventories rose 6.1 million barrels to 427 million barrels during the past week, while analysts forecast a drop by 0.5 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks fell 2 million barrels to 223.1 million barrels, and the distillate stocks held at 129.3 million barrels.
While the American Petroleum Institute reported yesterday in preliminary data that the US crude inventories rose 5.2 million barrels during the same period.
Dow Jones jumps 400 points after robust data
US stock indices rose in early trading on Thursday, after the release of strong economic data, as the unemployment claims fell below 300,000 for the first time since the pandemic.
The US Department of Labor revealed that the number of initial unemployment claims was at 293K last week from 329K, lower than forecasts of 315K.
The producer price index rose 0.5% in September, missing forecasts of 0.6%, while the core reading of the same index rose 0.2%, missing forecasts of 0.5%.
The Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed that the central bank's members discussed a plan to reduce asset purchases by $15 billion per month.
The Fed members expected the central bank to start cutting the pandemic bond-buying program starting Mid-November.
As for stocks, Dow Jones surged 1.2% or 410 points to 34,787 as of 14:18 GMT, and S&P 500 rose 1.3% or 58 points to 4,422, while Nasdaq rose 1.4% or 211 points to 14,785.
US unemployment claims fall to lowest level since March 2020
At 12:30 GMT, the US Department of Labor showed that the unemployment claims were at 293K during the week ending in October 8, the lowest reading since March 2020, better than forecasts of 315K, and better than the previous reading of 329K. This data is positive for the US economy.