Investing.com - Crude oil futures were little changed during European morning hours on Thursday, as investors digested data showing China’s economy grew at the weakest rate since the first quarter of 2009, while awaiting the start of a two-day summit of European leaders later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD92.59 a barrel during European morning trade, unchanged on the day.
The December contract was stuck in a tight trading range of USD92.33 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD92.69 a barrel.
Official data released earlier showed that China's economy grew 7.4% in the third quarter compared to a year earlier, slowing from 7.6% in the previous three months.
It was the weakest GDP reading since the first quarter of 2009 and the seventh straight quarter of slower growth.
The Asian nation is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and has been the engine of strengthening demand.
Markets now looked ahead to the start of a two-day European Union summit on Thursday, although no major announcements on Spain or Greece were expected.
Market players have been anticipating for the past month that the Spanish government would ask for a full-scale sovereign bailout.
A bailout would allow the ECB to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation. But Spain has been reluctant to do so because it may come with conditions on its budget.
The yield on Spanish 10-year government bonds was at a multi-month low of 5.44%.
Oil prices ended flat on Wednesday, as stronger-than-expected U.S. housing data was countered by a larger-than-expected buildup in U.S. crude stocks last week.
Official data showed that U.S. housing starts rose by 15% in September, the fastest pace since July 2008, adding to hopes that the U.S. economic recovery is gaining momentum.
Meanwhile, weekly data from the U.S. Energy Department showed that crude oil supplies rose by 2.9 million barrels last week, above expectations for a 1.7 million barrel increase.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil-consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Market players also continued to focus on escalating tensions between Syria and Turkey and the possibility that Iran could support Syria in such a dispute.
Tensions between Turkey and Syria have been growing since Syrian shells last week killed five people in a Turkish border village.
Countries in the Middle East and North Africa were responsible for 36% of global oil production and held 52% of proved reserves in 2011.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery eased up 0.2% to trade at USD113.46 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD20.87 a barrel.
London-traded Brent prices have been well-supported in recent sessions, as a combination of lingering concerns over a disruption to supplies from the Middle East and worries over declining production in the North Sea-region have been boosting prices.
Despite recent gains, Wall Street investment firm Goldman Sachs cut its oil price forecast for 2013 to USD110 a barrel, compared to a previous estimate of USD130 a barrel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD92.59 a barrel during European morning trade, unchanged on the day.
The December contract was stuck in a tight trading range of USD92.33 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD92.69 a barrel.
Official data released earlier showed that China's economy grew 7.4% in the third quarter compared to a year earlier, slowing from 7.6% in the previous three months.
It was the weakest GDP reading since the first quarter of 2009 and the seventh straight quarter of slower growth.
The Asian nation is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and has been the engine of strengthening demand.
Markets now looked ahead to the start of a two-day European Union summit on Thursday, although no major announcements on Spain or Greece were expected.
Market players have been anticipating for the past month that the Spanish government would ask for a full-scale sovereign bailout.
A bailout would allow the ECB to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation. But Spain has been reluctant to do so because it may come with conditions on its budget.
The yield on Spanish 10-year government bonds was at a multi-month low of 5.44%.
Oil prices ended flat on Wednesday, as stronger-than-expected U.S. housing data was countered by a larger-than-expected buildup in U.S. crude stocks last week.
Official data showed that U.S. housing starts rose by 15% in September, the fastest pace since July 2008, adding to hopes that the U.S. economic recovery is gaining momentum.
Meanwhile, weekly data from the U.S. Energy Department showed that crude oil supplies rose by 2.9 million barrels last week, above expectations for a 1.7 million barrel increase.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil-consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Market players also continued to focus on escalating tensions between Syria and Turkey and the possibility that Iran could support Syria in such a dispute.
Tensions between Turkey and Syria have been growing since Syrian shells last week killed five people in a Turkish border village.
Countries in the Middle East and North Africa were responsible for 36% of global oil production and held 52% of proved reserves in 2011.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery eased up 0.2% to trade at USD113.46 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD20.87 a barrel.
London-traded Brent prices have been well-supported in recent sessions, as a combination of lingering concerns over a disruption to supplies from the Middle East and worries over declining production in the North Sea-region have been boosting prices.
Despite recent gains, Wall Street investment firm Goldman Sachs cut its oil price forecast for 2013 to USD110 a barrel, compared to a previous estimate of USD130 a barrel.