Oil still under pressure after economic, inventories data
Published May 01, 2013 08:44PM ET
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for June delivery fell 0.28% to USD90.78 per barrel in Asian trading Thursday after settling down 2.72% at USD90.92 a barrel on Wednesday in the U.S.
Slack economic data points from the world’s two largest economies played a part in oil’s Wednesday woes. In U.S. economic news, the ADP private sector payroll survey showed that job growth slowed to just 119,000 private sector jobs in April. ADP also slashed the March reading to 131,000 from 158,000. Economists expect the April jobs report, due out Friday, to show the addition of 148,000 jobs.
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index fell to 50.7% from 51.3% in March. Economists expected an April reading of 50.8%. The April reading was the lowest since December. Readings above 50 signal expansion.
The U.S. data points were delivered after data revealed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 50.6 in April from 50.9 in March. Analysts expected a reading of 50.7.
Adding to oil’s struggles was a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 6.7 million barrels in the week ended April 26, blowing past expectations for a gain of 1 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 395.3 million barrels as of last week, the highest level since 1982.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures for June delivery inched up by 0.04% to USD99.86 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
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Written By: Investing.com
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