Crude oil futures
slipped lower on Thursday, impacted by data released on Wednesday which had showed that U.S.
crude inventories rose far more than expected last week. Market players keep eyeing developments in Yemen.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for June delivery hit $56.02 during European early afternoon hours, down 15 cents, or 0.27%. A day earlier, Nymex oil prices dropped $0.45, or 0.79%, to end at $56.16.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for June delivery dipped 4 cents, or 0.06%, to trade at $62.70 a barrel. On Wednesday, London-traded Brent futures rallied 65 cents, or 1.05%, to settle at $62.73.
The spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $6.68 a barrel.
The government report issued Wednesday indicated that U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 5.3 million barrels as of last week, compared to expectations for an increase of 2.8 million.
On Tuesday the American Petroleum Institute had reported that U.S. crude inventories rose by 5.5 million barrels in the week ended April 17, accelerating from a gain of 2.3 million in the preceding week.
During recent sessions, U.S. oil futures have been well-backed due to growing expectations that U.S. shale oil production has reached its peak and may start falling in the coming months amid an ongoing collapse in rigs drilling for oil.
The amount of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell by 26 last week to
734, the lowest since 2010. It was the 19th straight week of declines, industry research group Baker Hughes said.
Market players have been paying close attention to the shrinking rig count in recent months for signs it will eventually reduce the glut of crude flowing into the market.
On Wednesday Saudi Arabia resumed air strikes on Houthi-targets in the city of Aden despite calls from Washington for a diplomatic solution to the month-long conflict. Yemen is strategically located on one of the world's largest chokepoints of oil.
