Crude Oil Ends Lower On Weak Data, Ukraine

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil pared much of the losses but still ended lower Wednesday, as investors mulled over the official weekly oil supplies report and the unfolding tense scenario in Ukraine's Crimea region. Oil prices also reacted to some weak economic data out of the U.S. with initial claims for unemployment benefits rising and new orders for manufactured durable declining in January.

Meanwhile, the geopolitical tensions in Ukraine continued to escalate on a potential Russian intervention with the Crimean region becoming volatile. The majority population in Ukraine's strategically important shipping region of Crimea are Russian speakers. Meanwhile, the United States warned Russia it would be a "grave mistake" to intervene militarily in Ukraine.

In some soft economic news from the U.S., new orders for manufactured durable goods declined in January, largely due to weakness in demand for transportation equipment which is typically very volatile, a Commerce Department report showed Thursday.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than expected in the week ended February 22, a report from the Labor Department revealed Thursday.

U.S. commercial crude inventories increased by 100,000 barrels last week, even as markets expected a slightly bigger increase.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, shed $0.19 or 0.2 percent to close at $102.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Crude prices for April delivery scaled a high of $103.08 a barrel intraday and a low of $101.75.

Natural gas futures slipped to their lowest in five weeks, having seen their biggest 3-day loss since 2005. Some severe cold weather is forecast in the U.S. today and Friday, but the high pressure system is expected to break up over the weekend.

Natural gas for April dropped $0.03 or 0.7 percent, to close at $4.51 per mBtu on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas prices for April delivery, scaled a high of $4.567 per mBtu intraday and a low of $4.441.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.28 on Thursday, down from its previous close of 80.41 late Wednesday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.58 intraday and a low of 80.23.

The euro traded higher against the dollar at $1.3712 on Thursday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3687 late Wednesday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3725 intraday and a low of $1.3644.

In economic news, new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods orders fell by 1.0 percent in January after tumbling by a revised 5.3 percent in December. Economists expected orders to drop by about 1.6 percent compared to the 4.2 percent decrease reported for the previous month.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to 348,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 334,000. Economists expected jobless claims to edge down to 335,000 from the 336,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Eurozone economic confidence improved for the tenth consecutive month to a 31-month high in February, driven by upbeat services and industrial sentiment, data from the European Commission showed Thursday. The economic sentiment index rose unexpectedly to 101.2 in February from 101 in January. The score was forecast at 100.7.

Germany's unemployment eased further in February to its lowest level in nearly one-and half years, while the share of jobless persons in the labor force remained unchanged, as strong economic recovery continues to lift confidence. The Federal Labor Agency on Thursday said the number of job-seekers dropped by 14,000 to around 2.914 million in February from the prior month, marking a third consecutive decline. Economists had forecast unemployment to fall by 10,000.