Crude oil futures declined in early trading on Friday, influenced by the potential for prolonged high interest rates in Asia and the United States. However, decreasing U.S. oil inventories prevented prices from dropping further.
By 0013 GMT, Brent futures for August delivery had slipped 11 cents to $85.60 per barrel, while U.S. crude fell 9 cents to $81.20 per barrel.
Japan's core consumer prices increased by 2.5% in the past month compared to a year earlier, according to data released on Friday. This growth, up from the previous month, supports the expectation that Japan's central bank may raise interest rates in the coming months.
In the U.S., data released on Thursday indicated a decline in new unemployment claims for the week ending June 14, highlighting continued strength in the job market. The robust employment figures suggest that the U.S. Federal Reserve might maintain higher interest rates for an extended period.
Higher interest rates generally have a negative impact on economies, which can reduce oil demand.
Supporting oil prices, government data released on Thursday revealed a decrease in U.S. crude stockpiles by 2.5 million barrels in the week ending June 14, bringing the total to 457.1 million barrels. This surpassed analysts' expectations, who had forecasted a 2.2 million-barrel draw in a Reuters poll.
Gasoline inventories also saw a significant drop of 2.3 million barrels, totaling 231.2 million barrels, contrary to forecasts predicting a 600,000-barrel increase.
"Gasoline finally showed strong performance, marking its first substantial report of the summer driving season," noted Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York, in a statement.
Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.
