Forexpros – Crude oil futures were lower in Asian trading on Wednesday, hovering near a two-day low on news that factory orders came in slightly less than expected in the U.S. as well as on rising crude supply figures in the world’s largest economy.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at USD104.00 a barrel, down 0.01%, down from a session high of 104.20 and up from an earlier session low of USD103.93.
In the U.S., the Commerce Department reported that factory orders rose 1.3% in February, a little shy of market forecasts for a 1.5% monthly gain.
Meanwhile, crude supplies climbed by 7.8 million barrels last week, more than expectations for a gain of 2.2 million barrels, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute.
Rising stockpiles sparked fears that gasoline prices may have risen to the point that consumers are balking and forgoing filling up their cars when they don’t have to, which may erode further demand as fuel prices continue climbing on seasonal factors.
The commodity slipped a little on reports that the Federal Reserve is growing less inclined to roll out extraordinary stimulus measures to jolt the economy.
Past Fed stimulus measures have pumped the economy full of liquidity, which often finds its way to commodities markets and sends oil climbing, although minutes from the Fed’s most recent monetary policy meeting showed considerations for such moves is waning.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for May delivery were down 0.22% and trading at USD124.84 a barrel, up USD20.84 from its U.S. counterpart.
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