Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures traded near a seven-week low on Thursday, as concerns over weak demand in the U.S. weighed.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in August hit a daily low of $101.55 a barrel, the weakest level since May 19, before coming off the lows to last trade at $102.21 during U.S. morning hours, down 0.08%, or 9 cents.
New York-traded oil futures were likely to find support at $101.52 a barrel, the low from May 19 and resistance at $103.60 a barrel, the high from July 9.
Weekly supply data released Wednesday showed that total motor gasoline inventories in the U.S. increased by 0.6 million barrels last week, disappointing forecasts for a drop of 0.3 million barrels.
The unexpected increase in gasoline stocks during the summer driving season in the U.S. was bearish for oil prices.
Meanwhile, data released earlier showed that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the U.S. declined by 11,000 to 304,000 last week.
Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting released Wednesday showed that officials agreed to end the central bank’s asset purchase program in October.
However, the minutes revealed little new information on when the bank could start to hike rates. The central bank acknowledged that the economy is continuing to improve but officials remain divided over the outlook for inflation.
In China, data showed that Chinese exports in June climbed 7.2% from a year earlier, missing expectations for a gain of 10.6%, while imports rose 5.5%, below forecasts for a 5.8% increase.
China’s trade surplus narrowed to $31.6 billion last month from a surplus of $35.92 billion in May, compared to estimates for a surplus of $35.0 billion.
The U.S. and China are the world’s two largest oil consuming nations.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for August delivery fell to a session low of $107.77 a barrel, the weakest level since June 6, before trimming losses to last trade at $108.17, down 0.11%, or 12 cents.
London-traded Brent futures extended losses amid indications Libya's largest oil field Sharara was ramping up production much faster than expected and is almost at two-thirds of its output capacity.
Ongoing signals that Iraqi oil exports from the southern part of the country remained insulated from the sectarian violence that has swept the north in recent weeks also weighed.