U.S. Crude Holds Near 16-Month Lows On Demand Concerns
Bareksa • 11 Sep 2014
File photo of Baiji oil refinery, north of Baghdad (REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani)
Brent crude fell to an an intraday low of $97.60, the lowest price since April 18, 2013
Bareksa.com - U.S. crude futures held near a 16-month low below $92 a barrel on Thursday, after falling sharply in the previous session on lower OPEC demand forecasts and a jump in U.S. refined product stocks.
U.S. crude for October delivery edged up 11 cents to $91.78 as of 0036 GMT after falling $1.08 to settle at $91.67 a barrel in the previous session. The contract touched $91.22 at one point, the lowest since May 2, 2013.
Brent crude was unchanged at $98.04 after settling $1.12 down in the previous session. It fell to an an intraday low of $97.60, the lowest price since April 18, 2013.
U.S. gasoline and distillate stocks jumped by 2.4 million and 4.1 million barrels respectively, compared with analysts' expectations of a 157,000 barrel drop for gasoline and a 571,000 barrels increase for distillates, data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.
U.S. crude stocks fell by 972,000 barrels last week to 358.6 million barrels, the lowest since Jan. 31, according to EIA data, although analysts had expected a decrease of 1.1 million barrels.
Crude stocks at the Cushing delivery hub rose 78,000 barrels to 20.36 million barrels in the week to Sept. 5, the EIA said.
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European Union envoys will meet later on Thursday to discuss whether to implement new sanctions on Russia over its involvement in fighting in Ukraine after failing to make a decision on Wednesday. Russia has removed the bulk of its forces from Ukraine, Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko said Wednesday.
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