The price of crude oil was moving higher Thursday morning on worries over supply disruptions from the Middle East, even as escalating debt crisis in the euro zone capped gains.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for November delivery gained $0.69 to $90.67 a barrel. Yesterday, oil settled below the $90-mark for the first time in nearly 2 months on demand growth concerns as the euro zone financial problems continued unabated, notwithstanding the Energy Information Administration's weekly report of an unexpected decline in U.S. crude stockpiles for the week ended September 21.
Wednesday during trading hours, the EIA revealed that U.S. crude oil inventories unexpectedly dipped by 2.40 million barrels and gasoline stocks eased 0.50 million barrels in the weekended September 21. Analysts expected crude oil inventories to jump by 1.5 million barrels and gasoline stocks are seen unchanged.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was extending its 2-week high versus the euro and ticking lower against sterling. The buck was trading flat versus the Swiss franc and the yen.
In economic news, euro zone economic confidence deteriorated to 85 in September from 86.1 in August, survey data from European Commission showed. The reading was forecast to remain unchanged at 86.1.
Germany's unemployment increased by 9,000 in September from the prior month, the Federal Labor Agency said. Economists had forecast unemployment to rise by 10,000. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the jobless rate came in at 6.8 percent, unchanged from the prior month and matched economists' expectation.
Traders will look to the weekly jobless claims report from the U.S. Labor Department due out at 8.30 a.m ET. Economists expect claims to decline to 376,000 from 382,000 in the previous week.
Simultaneously, the Commerce Department will release its durable goods orders report. Economists expect a 5 percent decline in durable goods orders for August. Excluding transportation, orders may have risen 0.2 percent. In July, orders rose 4.1 percent.
Separately, the Commerce Department is due to release its advance estimate of second quarter GDP. Economists expect GDP growth estimate to be retained unchanged at 1.7 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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