Reductions to U.S. jobless claims helped push up crude oil futures on Thursday as the energy commodity reversed its performance from the past three trading sessions, according to Bloomberg.
The U.S. Labor Department noted that unemployment benefit claims dropped to their lowest level since the beginning of 2008. The total amount of 324,000 from last week also was lower than the 345,000 predicted by Bloomberg-polled economists. The European Central Bank opting to slash borrowing costs also proved to be beneficial to the performance of the energy commodity.
"The jobless claims and the ECB rate cut are providing support to the oil market," analyst and broker Gene McGillian with Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut, told the news source on Thursday. "The markets continue to get back and forth on changing economic perceptions."
At 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 0.73 percent, a 66-percent lift to $91.69 per barrel. At 10:40 a.m., Brent crude oil futures increased 0.83 percent, an 83-cent increase to $100.78 per barrel.
Reuters reports gains for the energy commodity were tempered by concerns about demand as the health of the global economy is in question.
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