Investing.com - Crude oil futures edged lower on Thursday, one day after posting its biggest one-day rally in two months after data showed that oil supplies in the U.S. rose less than expected last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for May delivery dipped 38 cents, or 0.67%, to trade at $56.02 a barrel during European morning hours.
A day earlier, Nymex oil jumped $3.10, or 5.82%, to close at $56.39 after hitting an intraday peak of $56.69, the most since December 23.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 1.3 million barrels in the week ended April 10 to a total of 483.7 million, below expectations for an increase of 4.1 million barrels.
U.S. oil futures have been well-supported in recent sessions due to mounting expectations that U.S. shale oil production has peaked and may start falling in the coming months amid an ongoing collapse in rigs drilling for oil.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for June delivery slumped 76 cents, or 1.2%, to trade at $62.56 a barrel. On Wednesday, London-traded Brent prices surged $3.51, or 5.87%, to settle at $63.32, the highest level since December 18.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $6.54 a barrel, compared to $6.93 by close of trade on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, the U.S. dollar recovered some ground lost after a weaker-than-expected U.S. industrial production report on Wednesday.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.3% to trade at 98.85 early on Thursday after hitting an overnight low of 98.07.
Investors looked ahead to U.S. housing data later in the session for further indications on the strength of the economy and the timing of an interest rate hike.
The U.S. was also set to release weekly data on initial jobless claims as well as a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.