Calgary, July 4, Reuters - Oil prices fell in light trading Thursday as data showed that U.S. crude oil inventories fell less than expected last week and investors were worried about the global economy.
Brent crude oil futures fell $0.52, or 0.81%, to close at $63.30 a barrel in recent months. Brent crude oil closed up 2.3% on Wednesday.
U.S. crude oil futures fell $0.54, or 0.94%, to $56.89 a barrel. U.S. crude oil closed up 1.9% Wednesday.
As a result of the July 4 Independence Day holiday in the United States, market turnover was light.
In recent months, the mysterious attack on the Oman Gulf tanker has strained relations between Iran and the United States. On Thursday, the Royal Navy detained a supertanker in Gibraltar that could carry Iranian crude oil to Syria, but the market seemed to have little reaction to the news.
According to data released Wednesday by the American Energy Information Association (EIA), U.S. crude oil stocks fell by 1.1 million barrels last week, far less than the 5 million barrels reduction announced earlier this week by the American Petroleum Association (API).
"Inventory data in no way support the rise in oil prices, not only is the decline in crude oil inventories lower than expected, but it is also significantly lower than the decline reported by API the day before," Commerzbank wrote in a report to customers.
EIA data showed that U.S. crude oil inventories fell less than expected, as U.S. refineries consumed less crude oil last week than the previous week and processed 2% less crude oil than the same period last year, despite the peak summer gasoline demand season.
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