WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures settled just marginally up on Thursday, despite moving up sharply early on in the session.
Concerns about supply in the market following the drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities last Saturday pushed crude oil prices in morning trades.
However, prices started climbing down as the session progressed amid reports disruptions to refining activity in Texas due to flooding from Tropical Storm Imelda and a likely drop in demand for crude.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October ended up by 2 cents at $58.13 a barrel.
On Wednesday, WTI Crude oil futures for October ended down $1.23, or about 2.1%, at $58.11 a barrel, after having plunged 5.7% a session earlier.
On Monday, crude oil prices soared more than $8 a barrel, lifted by worries about supply after the drone attacks on a couple of Saudi oil facilities.
A report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration today said that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 84 billion cubic feet for the week ended September 13.
Data released by the Energy Information Administration Wednesday morning showed crude inventories in the U.S. rose by 1.06 million barrels in the week ended September 13, compared with expectations for a drawdown of 2.5 million barrels.
Gasoline inventories were up by 780,000 barrels last week, against forecasts for a drop of 540,000 barrels. Meanwhile, distillate stockpiles increased by 440,000 barrels, compared with forecasts for a rise of 535,000 barrels.
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