Crude oil futures finished lower on Thursday as a possible June rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve factored into investor uncertainty, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
June West Texas Intermediate crude fell 51 cents, or 1.1%, to end trading at $47.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the day, WTI traded as low as $46.73 a barrel, the lowest settlement since May 13. A volatile session is anticipated on Friday which is the deadline for the June WTI contract expiration.
On London’s ICE Futures Exchange, July Brent crude, the global benchmark, tumbled $1.31, or 2.7%, to settle at $47.62 a barrel.
“Investors are breaking their heads over the recent comments out of the Fed, and weighing if they are bluffing or not on a rate hike in June,” said Nico Pantelis, head of research at Secular Investor.
“Oil could stay under pressure in the coming days, even weeks,” he stated. “Look for oil to drop further towards the lower band of $40 per barrel,” added Pantelis.
June natural gas inched up less than half a cent, ending at $2.005 per million British thermal units.