Crude oil futures prices july 26 2012

Crude oil futures prices july 26 2012 : Crude oil futures retreated during European morning trade on Thursday, as ongoing concerns over the health of the global economy and its impact on oil demand weighed on energy prices.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD88.58 a barrel during European morning trade, shedding 0.45%.

Earlier in the day, prices fell by as much as 0.75% to trade at a session low of USD88.36 a barrel.

Concerns over the U.S. economic outlook resurfaced Wednesday after official data showed that new home sales fell by 8.4% to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 units in June, compared to expectations for a decline of 2.6% to 372,000.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Department said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories increased by 2.7 million barrels last week, defying expectations for a decline of 0.65 million barrels.

But prices remained supported amid renewed speculation over the possibility of more easing from the Federal Reserve, ahead of its policy meeting next week.

The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil-consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.

Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor developments surrounding the euro zone’s ongoing debt crisis.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi dampened hopes that the euro zone’s bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, could be given a banking license, which would increase its firepower to fight the debt crisis in the euro zone.

ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny had said on Wednesday that there were some arguments in favor of such an idea.

Elsewhere, the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 7.38% on Thursday, below Wednesday’s euro-era high of 7.74%, but still above the critical 7% threshold, widely considered unsustainable in the long term.

Oil traders pay close attention to developments surrounding the euro zone’s debt woes, amid worries that the region’s sovereign debt crisis could trigger a broader economic slowdown that would curb demand for oil.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery declined 0.4% to trade at USD103.98 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD15.40.

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