Crude oil prices slipped in New York Thursday as investors worried about record-high US supplies and the dollar rallied against the euro and yen.
New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate light sweet crude for delivery in June, rebounded from an intraday low of $95.35 to finish at $96.39 a barrel, down 23 cents from Wednesday.
The European benchmark, Brent North Sea crude for June delivery, rose 13 cents to settle at $104.47 in London trade.
Bill Baruch of iiTrader.com said that the New York market hit “major resistance” with a trend line below $97 dollars amid market worries about excess supply with US oil inventories at a record high.
“We are looking right now for consolidation after a big run,” he said.
WTI rebounded in late trade as renewed investor appetite for risk swept financial markets, said Bob Yawger of Mizuho Securities.
The dollar was “very strong at the end of the day and the oil went up,” Yawger said. “Generally, it’s not the way it works.”
The action came after the dollar, lifted by encouraging US jobs data, crossed the 100-yen level for the first time in more than four years and rose slightly against the euro.
A stronger dollar tends to curb demand for dollar-priced crude oil from buyers wielding weaker currencies.
Source: AFP
