Investing.com - Crude oil futures extended losses on Thursday, after comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin helped ease tensions surround the crisis in Ukraine.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for October delivery tumbled 1.38%, or $1.45, to trade at $103.62 a barrel during U.S. morning hours.
In a speech in Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would do "everything in our power" to stop the violence in eastern Ukraine, adding that the country did not need conflict with the outside world.
Meanwhile, concerns about weak global demand intensified after data released earlier showed that Germany’s economy contracted in the second quarter while growth in France stagnated.
The euro zone accounted for nearly 16% of global oil consumption last year.
London-traded Brent futures slumped to a 13-month low of $103.26 a barrel on Wednesday, as global supplies were seen as ample despite ongoing violence in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Elsewhere, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in September declined 0.61%, or 60 cents, to trade at $96.99 a barrel.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits increased by 21,000 to 311,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 290,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 5,000 to 295,000 last week.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended August 2 rose to 2.544 million from 2.519 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to fall to 2.500 million.
The disappointing data dampened optimism over the health of the U.S. economy.