Forexpros – bsp;- Crude oil futures traded lower on Thursday on climbing U.S. supplies despite Iranian supply disruption worries.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for February settlement traded at USD103.06 a barrel during mid U.S. trade giving back 0.16%.
It earlier hit a daily high of USD103.73 and a low of USD101.95 a barrel.
Strength in the U.S. dollar helped depress oil prices.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, soared 1.07% to 81.23.
Dollar strength generally depresses commodity prices, as it decreases their appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude oil inventories climbed by 2.2 million barrels in the week ended December 30th, crushing estimates for a 1.2 million barrel decline.
Meanwhile, the euro zone has agreed on principle to begin an oil embargo against Iran per a diplomat. However, the details of the potential embargo remain uncertain. This fear added support to recent crude oil prices.
France came into danger of losing its AAA credit rating after a bond auction disappointed investors adding to euro zone crisis fears.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for February delivery traded higher by 0.37% to trade at USD114.13 a barrel, up USD11.07 on its U.S. Counterpart.
This greater than USD10.00 spread is near historic highs. The two contracts traditionally trade within USD1.00 of each other.
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