Global oil prices fell in European trade on Thursday for the second session, plumbing three-week lows after an unexpected rise in US crude stocks. 

The decline comes amid ongoing talks in the EU to put a price ceiling on Russian crude products after delaying the decision yesterday.

Global Oil Prices

US crude fell 1.1% to $75.86 a barrel, the lowest since January 11, while Brent shed 1.05% to $82.10 a barrel, the lowest since January 11.

US crude lost 3% on Wednesday, while Brent gave up 2.9%, the third loss in four days on concerns about Russian supplies.

US Crude Stocks

The Energy Information Administration reported a buildup of 4.1 million barrels last week to 452.7 million barrels, while analysts expected a drop of a million barrels.

Gasoline stocks rose 2.6 million barrels to 234.6 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose 2.3 million barrels to 117.6 million barrels.

Price Ceiling

Diplomats said the EU is seeking a deal on Friday to put a price ceiling on Russian crude prices after a delay yesterday. 

The European Commission suggested yesterday a ceiling of $100 a barrel on premium products such as diesel, and $45 a barrel on products such as gasoline oil.

US unemployment clkaims fell to 183 thousdand in the week ending January 27 from 186 thousand, below estimates of 196 thousand. 

The European Central Bank voted to raise interest rates by 50 basis points to 3%, the highest since 2008 as expected. 

Dollar fell in European trade on Thursday against a basket of major rivals, sharpening the losses for the third session, plumbing ten-month lows following Fed's meeting. 

The Fed continued to slow down its policy decisions and hiked interest rates by 25 basis points, with Jerome Powell touting the slowdown of inflation in the US. 

The Index

The dollar index fell 0.35% to 100.82, the lowest since April 2022, with a session-high at 101.26, after closing down 1% yesterday. 

The Fed

The Fed recently increased interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.75%, the highest since September 2007.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell touted the slowdown in consumer prices in recent months, and said the Fed will continue to take decisions every meeting based on the most recent data.

He asserted that policy needs to remain tight for some time, and that Fed officials still need more evidence that inflation is on track towards 2%.

Economic Developments

Recent data decisively agree that inflation is slowing down alongside economic growth, an indication the Fed's policies are taking a toll.

Fed Rates

After the meeting, pricing for a 0.25% rate hike by the Fed in March rose to 85% ahead of US labor data tomorrow.