Investing.com - Crude prices shot up on Thursday after data revealed fewer individuals in the U.S. filed for unemployment assistance last week, a sign the economy continues to improve and will demand more fuels and energy going forward.
The commodity saw added support from Wednesday's bullish inventory data that pointed to rising demand.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded up 1.25% at USD107.68 a barrel on Tuesday, off from a session high of USD107.82 and up from an earlier session low of USD105.94.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 24,000 to 334,000, compared to expectations for a drop of 13,000 to 345,000, which sent the dollar rising.
Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index rose 19.8 for July from June’s 12.5 reading. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 7.8, and the better-than-expected readings sent prices gaining on Thursday along with lingering applause from supply data released earlier this week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 6.9 million barrels last week, compared to expectations for a decline of 2 million barrels.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery were down 0.03% at USD108.58 a barrel, up USD0.90 from its U.S. counterpart.
The commodity saw added support from Wednesday's bullish inventory data that pointed to rising demand.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded up 1.25% at USD107.68 a barrel on Tuesday, off from a session high of USD107.82 and up from an earlier session low of USD105.94.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 24,000 to 334,000, compared to expectations for a drop of 13,000 to 345,000, which sent the dollar rising.
Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index rose 19.8 for July from June’s 12.5 reading. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 7.8, and the better-than-expected readings sent prices gaining on Thursday along with lingering applause from supply data released earlier this week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 6.9 million barrels last week, compared to expectations for a decline of 2 million barrels.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery were down 0.03% at USD108.58 a barrel, up USD0.90 from its U.S. counterpart.