Oil prices slipped on Thursday, but kept most of the previous day’s gains after a larger-than-expected drawdown in crude oil stocks in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer.
Brent crude oil fell 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $75.33 a barrel by 0128 GMT, after settling up 2.5% the previous day.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $72.49, after settling 3.1% higher on Wednesday.
U.S. crude oil and fuel stockpiles dropped sharply last week, as refiners in the U.S. Gulf region and oil facilities offshore were still recovering from Hurricane Ida, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 6.4 million barrels in the week to Sept. 10 to 417.4 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.5 million-barrel drop.
Dollar drifts as traders cast gaze toward FOMC for taper clues
The dollar languished near the middle of its range of the past month versus major peers on Thursday, as traders looked to next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting for indications on how soon the U.S central bank will start to taper stimulus.
The dollar index, which measures the currency against six rivals, was at 92.506, little changed from Wednesday.
It reached a two-week high of 92.887 at the start of the week, only to drop to a one-week low of 92.321 on Tuesday after a softer-than-expected inflation report. Its low for the month was 91.941, hit on Sept. 3, when payrolls data disappointed.
The dollar eased 0.1% to 109.24 yen, after sliding to a six-week low of 109.110 in the previous session.
The euro was mostly flat at $1.18095, consolidating between the month’s high and low of $1.1909 and $1.17705.
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