Forexpros – Crude oil futures erased losses Thursday that stemmed from a surge in U.S. inventories, which sent the raw material dipping below the USD100 per-barrel mark and wiping out Wednesday gains that were fueled by ongoing Middle East tensions.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD100.50 a barrel during early Asian trading, up 0.01%.
The commodity dropped to USD99.69 a barrel briefly and later regained some of its strength but still held off from a USD100.66 session high.
U.S. Department of Energy data showed U.S. crude inventories grew by 1.3 million barrels during the week, well above market expectations for a contraction of 1.1 million, meaning oil was more plentiful and therefore, cheaper.
Gasoline inventories rose by 5.1 million barrels, well above market expectations for a gain of around 1 million.
The market shrugged off a slight decline in the dollar, which often bolsters oil prices when it weakens.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was flat at 78.48 early Thursday.
Ongoing tensions between the West and Iran continued to grab headlines but did little to offset the surge in U.S. stockpiles.
Iran has said it shot down an unmanned U.S. spy drone recently, while the U.S. and its European allies aim to step up sanctions on the large oil-producing country on allegations it’s pursuing a nuclear program.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery added 0.11% to trade at USD109.66 a barrel, up USD9.16 on its U.S. counterpart.
The gap in price between the two contracts hovers roughly midway between the nearly USD20.00 gap all-time high and a historical spread of USD1.00.
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