Crude Oil Plummets To End Near $47 A Barrel

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil plummeted to end at a six-week low on Thursday, on supply glut concerns amid signs that U.S. inventories will continue to rise after the official oil report from the Energy Information Administration showed stockpiles to have risen more than expected last week.

U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 4.5 million barrels to 448.9 million barrels in the week ended March 6, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. With refineries in maintenance mode, stockpiles will likely build through the next month.

Nevertheless, oil recouped some of the losses amid another round of upbeat U.S. jobs data that came in better than expected, in the latest sign the jobs market is heating up.

The dollar trended lower after retail sales in the U.S. unexpectedly fell for a third straight month in February, attributed to a substantial drop in auto sales. Any upbeat retail sales data is linked with a strengthening economy, while weaker sales point to weak economic growth.

Prices have managed to stay away from the 6-year lows near $44 set a few weeks ago.

Iran recently said crude oil prices will not get back to $60 in 2015.

"We're not expecting oil prices to go over $60 until 2016. What will happen after that is not clear," the Mehr news agency quoted a top Iranian oil official as saying. "When sanctions are lifted, it is our natural and legal right to increase our oil sales in an effort to raise market share."

Markets are keeping a close eye on nuclear talks between Iran and the U.S.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, plunged $1.12 or 2.3 percent to settle at $47.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Crude prices for April delivery scaled a high of $48.76 a barrel intraday and a low of $46.86.

On Wednesday, crude oil shed $0.12 or 0.2 percent to settle at $48.17 a barrel, after the official weekly oil report showed stockpiles to have jumped more than expected last week and with the dollar strengthening sharply.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 99.35 on Thursday, down from its previous close of 99.68 on Wednesday in late North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 100.06 intraday and a low of 98.65. The dollar scaled its highest in the last one year intraday.

The euro trended higher against the dollar at $1.0607 on Thursday, as compared to its previous close of $1.0547 on Wednesday in late North American trade. The euro scaled a high of $1.0684 intraday and a low of $1.0498, the lowest in the last one year.

In economic news, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back more than anticipated in the week ended March 7, after reporting a notable increase over the two previous weeks, a Labor Department report showed Thursday. Initial jobless claims dropped to 289,000, a decrease of 36,000 from the previous week's revised level of 325,000. Economists expected jobless claims to pull back to 309,000 from the 320,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Retail sales in the U.S. unexpectedly fell for a third straight month in February, a report from the Commerce Department showed Thursday, with the decrease partly reflecting a substantial drop in auto sales. Retail sales slid 0.6 percent in February following a 0.8 percent decrease in January. Economists expected sales to rise by 0.3 percent.

Import prices in the U.S. rebounded slightly more than anticipated in February, a Labor Department report said Thursday, although export prices showed a modest drop. Import prices rose 0.4 percent in February after plunging by a revised 3.1 percent in January. Economists expected prices to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 2.8 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said export prices edged down 0.1 percent in February following a 1.9 percent decrease in January. The modest drop was in line with economists' estimates.

With a drop in manufacturing inventories offsetting an increase in wholesale inventories, a Commerce Department report on Thursday showed U.S. business inventories nearly flat in January. Business inventories came in nearly unchanged for the second consecutive month in January. Economists expected inventories to edge up by 0.1 percent.

Eurozone industrial output declined unexpectedly in January as the impetus from weaker euro and oil prices were insufficient to maintain the growth in production. Industrial production fell 0.1 percent in January from December, which was the first decline in five months, data from Eurostat revealed Thursday. Economists had forecast output to grow 0.2 percent after rising revised 0.3 percent in December.

Germany's consumer prices recovered as estimated earlier in February, final data from Destatis showed Thursday. The consumer price index grew 0.1 percent in February from last year, confirming the flash estimate. This was in contrast to the 0.4 percent decrease in the previous month.

French consumer prices declined for the second straight month in February, the statistical office Insee showed Thursday. Consumer prices dropped 0.3 percent on a yearly basis in February, marking the second consecutive fall. Economists had forecast prices to fall 0.4 percent as registered in January.

The U.K.'s visible trade deficit narrowed largely due to a fall in oil imports in January, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Thursday. The visible trade deficit narrowed to GBP 8.4 billion in January from GBP 9.9 billion in December. The shortfall was forecast to decline to GBP 9.6 billion.

Ireland's economy grew for a second consecutive year in 2014 and at the fastest pace since 2007, marking the strongest growth in the EU, led by robust investments, exports and domestic demand. The Irish gross domestic product rose 4.8 percent in 2014 after a 0.8 percent gain in the previous year. In 2012, the economy contracted 0.3 percent. The country exited an EU/IMF bailout program in late 2013.