WTI oil trading back near $97 on US inventories and dollar
SylviaHunt30US WTI oil prices open Thursday’s trading session back near $97 a barrel as the EIA’s weekly oil report confirms a rise in US crude inventories while the US dollar continues to weaken on global currency markets, propping up oil prices in the short term.
Latest WTI Oil Price
US Light crude oil futures for September 2011 delivery was trading at $97.14 a barrel, 06.15 GMT this morning in electronic trading on the NYMEX.
US Oil Inventories
The EIA said in its weekly US inventories energy report that US crude stockpiles were up by 2.3 million barrels last week to 354 million barrels against an expected decline of between 1 million to 2 million barrels, although the gain still left inventories around 2 percent below 2010 levels. Stronger oil inventories in America tend to weigh on oil prices.
US Dollar Decline
Meanwhile, talks between US lawmakers on a plan to raise America’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before the 2nd August deadline stalled yet again and the US dollar slid to a three month low versus a currency basket (the Dollar Index) with more falls seen likely if no deal is reached.
The US ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against six major world currencies was trading back over 74 after finishing yesterday’s session at 73.629.
“As long as the uncertainty over the discussions on the US debt ceiling continue it’s a clear dollar negative. No one wants to hold dollars at the moment.” said Niels Christensen, currency strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen.
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WTI oil trading back near $97 on US inventories and dollar
