Crude Oil Ends Below $103 Ahead Of Supply Data

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil moved down sharply to end at a one-week low Wednesday, ahead of the official U.S. crude oil inventory data with investors expecting the data to show an increase in stockpiles and the dollar trending higher. Investors were also focused on the developments in Ukraine where situation remains tense after clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces.

Due to the holiday last Monday, the American Petroleum Institute's oil report will be out only later today, while the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly report is scheduled for Thursday.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for July delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $1.39 or 1.3 percent to close at $102.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.

Crude prices for July delivery scaled a high of $104.39 a barrel intraday and a low of $103.25.

Oil prices settled lower yesterday, but losses were limited on a slew of upbeat economic data out of the U.S.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.57 on Wednesday, up from its previous close of 80.35 late Tuesday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.58 intraday and a low of 80.32.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3591 on Wednesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3635 late Tuesday in North American trade. The euro scaled a high of $1.3640 intraday and a low of $1.3590.

In economic news, German unemployment increased in May confounding expectations, for the first time in six months but the labor office credited it largely to weather related factors. The number of people out of work increased by around 24,000 to 2.91 million in May, the Federal Labor Agency reported Wednesday, the first increase in six months. The forecast was for a decline of 15,000.

Meanwhile, eurozone economic sentiment improved more-than-expected in May to a 34-month high, driven by higher confidence among consumers and industry managers, survey results showed Wednesday. The economic sentiment index rose to 102.7 in May, the highest since July 2011, from 102 in April, the European Commission said. This was also above the consensus of 102.2.