Crude oil futures settled below $35 a barrel for the first time in six years Thursday, extending brutal recent losses amid rising U.S. inventories.
January oil lost 57 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $34.95/bbl on Nymex — its lowest since February 2009.
“At 490.7 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories remain near levels not seen for this time of the year in at least 80 years,” said the Energy Information Administration yesterday.
The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a pullback in initial jobless claims in the week ended December 12th.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 271,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 282,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to pull back to 275,000.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com