Crude oil futures rose 3.5 percent in overnight trading on Wednesday, following official data earlier in the day showing a 3.4-million drop in crude inventories and a fall in crude output to 8.8 million barrels per day, the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2014.
June deliveries of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) were up US$1.57, or 3.5 percent, closing at US$46.23 per barrel on the New York exchange, the highest settlement since early November. Prices have surged 76% since their February low.
July deliveries for Brent crude rose US$1.63, or 3.6 percent, to $47.15 per barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
During Asian hours on Thursday, however, oil prices gave back some of its gains. Global benchmark Brent futures dropped 0.55 percent at $47.34 a barrel, after settling up 4.6 percent overnight. U.S. crude was down 0.45 percent to $46.02, after finishing up 3.5 percent on Wednesday.
Macy’s Stock Tanks
Retail stocks in the U.S. slumped Wednesday after weak earnings from Macy’s fueled concerns about consumer spending. The retail giant lost $5.61, or 15%, to $31.38, the biggest one-day percentage drop since 2008.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 217.23 points, or 1.2%, to 17711.12, its worst decline since February 11th while the S&P 500 lost 19.93, or 1%, to 2064.46, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 49.19, or 1%, to 4760.69.
Investors and analysts have been hoping to see signs of a resumption in consumer spending that could move the U.S. economy forward but spending has slowed for three quarters in a row, and the U.S. economy has grown only 0.5% in the first quarter.
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