Oil retreats on economic worries
- Source: Xinhua
- [09:00 February 26 2010]
- Comments
Oil prices retreated on Thursday as a surprising rise in jobless claims and Greece rating worries exacerbated investors' concerns about the economic recovery.
The US Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims unexpectedly surged by 22,000 to 496,000 in the week ended on February 20, the highest level in more than three months.
Meanwhile, another report from the Commerce Department demonstrated a mixed picture of manufacturing. Orders for durable goods increased three percent to a seasonally adjusted $167.91 billion, which was twice as much as the economists had projected. However, orders fell by 0.6 percent excluding volatile transportation orders, while economists had expected an increase of one percent.
Negative news from Europe also weighed on market. Rating agencies Standard & Poor and Moody's warned of further lowering Greece debt ratings, which added to market's worries about the credit crisis in Europe.
Moreover, the European Commission said economic sentiment in the 16 countries that use the euro worsened unexpectedly in February, which dragged the euro to a nine-month low against the dollar in earlier session, and pressured on crude oil futures.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery fell $1.83 to settle at $78.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In London, Brent crude for April settlement lost $1.83 to $76.26 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
