Oil prices were higher on Thursday morning in Asia in an effort to reverse some of the losses they’ve seen over the past few days of heavy selloffs. Oil prices declined after reports out of the United States showed unexpected gains in U.S. crude inventories, but the gains were boosted by a resurrection of concerns about trade problems between the U.S. and China.
U.S. WTI futures were up 0.50 percent as of 10:09 a.m. HK/SIN to trade at $68.00 per barrel. Brent crude futures were up 0.51 percent to $72.76 per barrel. Data out from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday confirmed that U.S. crude inventories increased by 3.8 million barrels last week. Still, traders took solace in the fact that gasoline stocks declined by 2.5 million barrels, a signal that oil may still be on a bullish trajectory.
On Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to propose another tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods to the tune of 25 percent. Beijing replied with threats for retaliation of such tariffs were implemented.
Currency Movements
The dollar struggled on Wednesday morning despite early gains after the Federal Reserve gave an optimistic assessment of the country’s economy. The Federal Reserve held interest rates stable as expected.
The dollar index was down 0.02 percent in the first hour of Hong Kong’s trading day. The greenback eased against the euro and the Canadian dollar. It also declined against the yen, trading at 111.62, a 0.09 percent drop. The dollar’s potential upside was capped by the trade tensions and higher U.S. Treasury yields. Traders are now looking for an announcement from the Bank of England expected out later on Thursday.