Crude Oil Ends Lower On Libya, Iraq Supply Hopes

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil moved down for a sixth day to end at a three-week low on Thursday, amid easing supply worries after reports indicated increased crude shipments from Libya with Iraq exports likely to continue undisturbed.

However, the more than expected decline in U.S. crude stockpiles, and the escalating violence in Ukraine and Iraq checked some of the losses. Also supporting oil prices were some upbeat economic data from U.S. with a better-than-expected jobs data.

For the week, oil prices were down about 1.6 percent.

Crude oil prices continued to tick lower as worries over supply disruptions from Libya and Iraq dissipated to a large extent. Iraqi oil fields in the south have been spared, as sectarian violence appears to be contained to the north and west of the country.

In some positive economic news, employment in the U.S. rose much more than anticipated in June, with unemployment rate dropping to its lowest level in almost six years, a Labor Department report showed Thursday. Elsewhere, a Commerce Department report showed showed U.S. trade deficit to have narrowed more than expected in May, with value of exports rising and value of imports falling. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank kept its interest rates unchanged after its monthly policy meeting on Thursday, even though the region's economy continues to lag.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $0.42 or 0.4 percent to close at $104.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Crude prices for August delivery scaled a high of $104.29 a barrel intraday and a low of $103.67.

On Wednesday, crude oil futures ended lower, extending losses to a fifth day, despite a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showing a decline in crude stockpiles. Oil prices dropped on reports of oil shipments from at least two Libyan oil terminals, and a strong dollar.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.21 on Thursday, up from its previous close of 79.94 late Wednesday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.32 intraday and a low of 79.95.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3609 on Thursday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3659 late Wednesday in North American trade. The euro scaled a high of $1.3663 intraday and a low of $1.3596.

In economic news from the U.S., a report from the Labor Department showed an addition of 288,000 jobs in June, notably higher than an expected addition of 211,000 jobs. Meanwhile, jobless rate fell to a near six-year low of 6.1 percent. Economist expected unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 6.3 percent.

Another report from the Labor Department showed jobless claims to have risen to 315,000 in the week ended June 28th. The consensus estimate called for a rise to 314,000 from 312,000 in the previous week.

A report from the U.S. Commerce Department showed trade deficit to have dropped a more than expected 5.6 percent in May to $44.4 billion. Economists expected the trade deficit to have narrowed to $45.1 billion from $47.2 billion in the previous month.

Meanwhile, activity in the U.S. service sector grew for the 53rd consecutive month in June a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed Thursday, although the pace of growth slowed slightly with the index edging down to 56.0, from 56.3 in the previous month.

In economic news from the eurozone, the European Central Bank has left its interest rates unchanged at 0.15 percent, after reducing them in June while announcing several liquidity measures. The bank retained the deposit rate at -0.10 percent, having slashed the rate from zero to negative in June.