Oil futures fell on Thursday after U.S. government data reports revealed a lower than expected weekly decline in crude oil inventories, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
August West Texas Intermediate crude slid $2.29, or 4.8%, to settle at $45.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the day, WTI was trading at $47.85 a barrel before the supply data report was released.
September Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell $2.40, or 4.9%, to settle at $46.40 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Exchange.
On Thursday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration report revealed a decline of 2.2 million barrels of domestic crude oil supplies for the week ending July 1. Analysts predicted a decrease of 2.6 million barrels. In comparison, the American Petroleum Institute report issued on Wednesday reported a decrease of 6.7 million barrels.
“Once again, the API set up the EIA for disappointment,” said Tyler Richey, co-editor of The 7:00’s Report told MarketWatch.
Meanwhile, July natural gas fell less than a penny, or 0.3%, to $2.777 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.