Oil prices closed slightly lower on Thursday, boosted by weaker U.S. gasoline demand data and news of a draft United Nations resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
May Brent crude futures closed 17 cents, or 0.2%, lower at $85.78 a barrel, while May US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell 20 cents, or 0.3%, to 81.07 dollars a barrel, after a drop of around 1.8% in the previous session.
Crude oil inventories in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, fell unexpectedly last week, according to an Energy Information Administration (EIA) report released Wednesday. [EIA/S]
While gasoline inventories fell for a seventh week, by 3.3 million barrels to 230.8 million, gasoline supplies, a gauge of demand for the product, fell below 9 million barrels.
The decline suggested that gasoline markets, which have supported a recent market rally, may have been overbought, according to Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.
Oil prices were also pressured by confirmation that the United States had drafted a United Nations resolution calling for a ceasefire that would allow the release of 40 Israeli hostages in exchange for the detention of hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, Yawger added.
Source: Terra
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