Forexpros – Crude oil futures slipped in Asian trading on Wednesday after private data showed that crude inventories rose last week, which offset otherwise bullish U.S. retail sales that sent the commodity rallying earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD93.11 a barrel on Wednesday, down 0.34%, off from a session high of USD93.27 and up from an earlier session low of USD93.06.
Earlier in the U.S., the American Petroleum Institute reported that oil inventories last week climbed by 2.78 million barrels to 367.1 million, well above expectations for a decline of 1.73 million barrels.
The news sent the commodity falling on concerns official data due out later will show similar gains.
The news briefly eclipsed otherwise bullish economic data in the U.S., which suggested the world’s largest economy continues on its road to recovery and will need more oil and fuels to grow.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales jumped 0.8% in July after a 0.7% drop in June, outpacing market expectations for a 0.3% increase.
It was the first gain in four months.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, rose 0.8% in July, well above market calls for a 0.4% increase and up from a 0.8% decline in June.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer prices rose at their fastest clip in five months in July, climbing 0.3% after a 0.1% increase the previous month.
Markets were expecting a 0.2% increase.
The numbers fueled sentiment that despite many headwinds slowing its recovery, the U.S. economy continues to grow and resist pressure to slide back into a recession
Germany, meanwhile, is avoiding recession as well.
Europe’s largest economy reported that its gross domestic product expanded by 0.3% in the second quarter, better than expectations for 0.2% growth.
France, meanwhile, reported that its economy came in flat, beating expectations for a 0.1% contraction.
However, the eurozone economy as a whole contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter, in line with expectations and bringing the annualized rate of contraction to 0.4%.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery were down 0.33% and trading at USD111.75 a barrel, up USD18.64 from its U.S. counterpart.
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