WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices drifted lower on Wednesday as worries about economic slowdown outweighed data showing a drop in crude inventories in the U.S., and the production cut decision by the OPEC and allies.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.10 at $80.61 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were down marginally at $84.84 a barrel a little while ago.
Data released by Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventories fell by 3.7 million barrels in the week ended March 31.
The data also showed gasoline and distillate stockpiles dropped by 4.1 million barrels and 3.6 million barrels, respectively last week.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by payroll processor ADP showed private sector employment rose by 145,000 jobs in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 261,000 jobs in February.
Economists had expected private sector employment to advance by 200,000 jobs compared to the addition of 242,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
A report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed growth in U.S. service sector activity slowed by much more than expected in the month of March.
The ISM said its services PMI slid to 51.2 in March from 55.1 in February. Economists had expected the index to show a much more modest decrease to 54.5.
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