The price of crude oil was little changed Wednesday morning as traders await cues from the official inventories data from the EIA.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for September delivery, eased $0.21 to $93.22 a barrel. Yesterday, oil settled higher as investor sentiment improved on some encouraging economic data out of Europe and the U.S., notwithstanding a strong dollar. Economic data out of U.S. showed retail sales to have improved more than expected, while Germany reported better than expected GDP growth.
Tuesday after the market hours, the API said U.S. crude oil inventories gained 2.80 million barrels, while gasoline stocks eased 2.3 million barrels in the weekended August 10.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was bouncing back towards a two-week high versus the euro and trading flat against sterling. The buck was steady versus the Swiss franc and the yen.
In economic news, Bank of England policymakers unanimously decided to retain quantitative easing at GBP 375 billion and the interest rate unchanged at 0.50 percent, the minutes of the meeting held on August 1 and 2 showed today.
Meanwhile, latest data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that the number of Britons claiming jobless benefits unexpectedly declined in July. The claimant count declined by 5,900 persons monthly to 1.59 million in July. Economists had expected the figure to climb by 6,000. The measure was higher by 35,600 person from a year ago.
Traders will look to the inflation data from the U.S. Labor Department due out at 8.30 a.m ET. Economists expect the headline index as well as the core consumer price index to have risen by 0.2 percent each. In June, the headline index was unchanged, while the core reading rose 0.2 percent.
Simultaneously, the results of the New York Federal Reserve's empire state manufacturing survey is slated to be released at 8:30 am ET. The headline general business conditions index for August is expected to come in at 7 compared to 7.4 in July.
During the session, the National Association of Homebuilders is scheduled to release the results of its August survey on homebuilders' confidence. The consensus estimates call for the index to remain unchanged at 35.
Today during trading hours, the EIA will release its U.S crude oil inventories report for the weekended August 10.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.