Investing.com - Crude oil futures held on to losses during U.S. morning hours on Thursday, after U.S. data painted a mixed picture of the economy one day after the Federal Reserve announced a fresh round of monetary easing measures.
Mounting worries about the fiscal cliff of looming automatic tax hike and spending cuts further kept investors on edge.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD86.37 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 0.45% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 0.8% earlier in the day to trade at a session low of USD86.07 a barrel.
The Department of Labor said the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits fell by 29,000 to 343,000 last week, against expectations for a decline of 2,000. The previous week’s figure was revised up to 372,000 from a previously reported 370,000.
Separately, the Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.3% in November, missing expectations for a 0.5% increase, while core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, were flat for the second consecutive month last month.
Meanwhile, official data showed that producer price inflation in the U.S. fell 0.8% last month, compared to forecasts for a 0.5% decline. The core producer price index eased up 0.1% last month, after falling 0.2% in October.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it would continue to purchase USD85 billion a month of government bonds and mortgage based securities in order to shore up the economic recovery.
The Fed also said that interest rates would remain close to zero as long as inflation forecasts remain near the bank’s 2% target and until the U.S. unemployment rate declines to 6.5% or less.
Investors continued to monitor developments surrounding the fiscal cliff in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise in the two weeks left before the deadline.
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday "serious differences" remain with President Barack Obama on the budget talks, while Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the central bank does not have the ability to “offset the full impact of the fiscal cliff”.
President Obama said recently that any solution must include spending cuts and raising revenue, including increasing taxes on the wealthiest. Republican leaders say they will agree to higher revenue, but they want to close loopholes or reduce tax breaks rather than raise rates.
Without a deal, the U.S. could fall back into recession and drag much of the world down with it.
Meanwhile, in the euro zone, finance ministers agreed a deal on rules for supervising the bloc’s banks ahead of a European Union summit later in the day.
Ministers also released EUR49.1 billion of financial aid for Greece, after the country completed a scheme to buy back its debt from private investors this week.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery shed 0.7% to trade at USD107.25 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD20.88 a barrel.
Mounting worries about the fiscal cliff of looming automatic tax hike and spending cuts further kept investors on edge.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD86.37 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 0.45% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 0.8% earlier in the day to trade at a session low of USD86.07 a barrel.
The Department of Labor said the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits fell by 29,000 to 343,000 last week, against expectations for a decline of 2,000. The previous week’s figure was revised up to 372,000 from a previously reported 370,000.
Separately, the Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.3% in November, missing expectations for a 0.5% increase, while core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, were flat for the second consecutive month last month.
Meanwhile, official data showed that producer price inflation in the U.S. fell 0.8% last month, compared to forecasts for a 0.5% decline. The core producer price index eased up 0.1% last month, after falling 0.2% in October.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it would continue to purchase USD85 billion a month of government bonds and mortgage based securities in order to shore up the economic recovery.
The Fed also said that interest rates would remain close to zero as long as inflation forecasts remain near the bank’s 2% target and until the U.S. unemployment rate declines to 6.5% or less.
Investors continued to monitor developments surrounding the fiscal cliff in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise in the two weeks left before the deadline.
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday "serious differences" remain with President Barack Obama on the budget talks, while Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the central bank does not have the ability to “offset the full impact of the fiscal cliff”.
President Obama said recently that any solution must include spending cuts and raising revenue, including increasing taxes on the wealthiest. Republican leaders say they will agree to higher revenue, but they want to close loopholes or reduce tax breaks rather than raise rates.
Without a deal, the U.S. could fall back into recession and drag much of the world down with it.
Meanwhile, in the euro zone, finance ministers agreed a deal on rules for supervising the bloc’s banks ahead of a European Union summit later in the day.
Ministers also released EUR49.1 billion of financial aid for Greece, after the country completed a scheme to buy back its debt from private investors this week.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery shed 0.7% to trade at USD107.25 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD20.88 a barrel.