WTI and Brent Retreat but Remain Above $50 on Thursday

 

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Oil futures receded on Thursday, one day after rising to their highest level since mid-July of last year due to an unexpected weekly drop in U.S. crude supplies and optimism surrounding OPEC’s plan to limit output lifted production, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.

On Thursday, November West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.17, or 2.3%, to settle at $50.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on the contract’s expiration day. December WTI crude, which became the front-month contract at the settlement, ended at $50.63 a barrel, down $1.19, or 2.3%.

On London’s ICE Futures Exchange, December Brent crude fell $1.29, or 2.5%, to end trading at $51.38 a barrel.

On Wednesday, WTI oil futures rallied after the U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed domestic crude stocks unexpectedly dropped by 5.2 million barrels in the week ending October 14.

Meanwhile, November natural gas fell 2.9 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $3.141 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.