Brent Sticks at Higher Than $87 Per Barrel
On Thursday, crude prices for Brent stuck at higher than $87 per barrel, close to their highest level since April after data the prior day showed a drop in U.S. inventories.
Brent crude futures were 29 cents, or 0.3% lower, to $87.05 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 40 cents, or 0.5%, at $83.48 per barrel in trade thinned by the Independence Day holiday in the U.S.
In the prior session, Brent rose 1.3% to t $87.34 for the highest close since April 30. WTI managed to settle at $83.88, an 11-week high.
These gains came after a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude stocks. The U.S. EIA reported a 12.2M drop in inventories. Analysts had expected a drop of 680K barrels.
According to PVM analyst Tamas Varga, crude prices had earlier declined by as much as 83 cents, but the drop was not expected to last due to dollar weakness and a healthier outlook for U.S. fuel demand after the EIA data.
German industrial orders in May dropped unexpectedly, adding to indications that a recovery for Europe’s biggest economy is still elusive.
On Wednesday, demand concerns were fueled by U.S. data that showed that last week, initial applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose while jobless numbers also increased.