By Bryan Wong
Investing.com - Oil was mixed on Thursday morning in Asia as the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) recorded an inventory draw, while investors digested COVID-19's continuous impact on fuel demand.
WTI futures dropped 0.24% to $42.09 by 11:17 PM ET (4:17 AM GMT) while Brent oil futures rose 0.07% to $45.20.
EIA data yesterday predicted a 7.37 million-barrel draw in crude oil inventories, more than double the 3.001 million-barrel draw forecasted, supporting prices for the black liquid.
A weak U.S. dollar which is hovering around a two-year low mark is also helping oil prices. Crude prices tend to rise to offset a weak dollar.
“Since oil is priced in dollars, that is good for oil,” AxiCorp market strategist Stephen Innes mentioned in a note.
However, fuel demand continues to dwindle due to the worsening pandemic. According to the Transportation Security Administration, airlines in the past week operated with about 27% of the number of passengers they carried last year.
The Cruise Lines International Association, which represents cruise lines globally, also announced on Wednesday that cruise lines operating in the U.S. would be suspended until at least October 31. This is the third voluntary suspension for U.S. cruise operations.