WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Despite data showing a sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, oil prices dropped on Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for demand following recent data showing a slowdown in business activity in the world's largest economy, and on easing worries about tensions in the Middle East.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $0.55 at $82.81 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were down $0.37 or 0.42% at $88.05 a barrel a little while ago.
Data from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories dropped by 6.4 million barrels in the week ended April 19th, after jumping by 2.7 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude inventories to rise by 1.6 million barrels in the week.
The EIA data also showed gasoline inventories edged down by 0.6 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles increased by 1.6 million barrels.
Earlier in the week, data showed business activity in the U.S. dropped to a four-month low. The S&P Global said its flash Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, fell to 50.9 this month from 52.1 in March.
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