Oil prices fell more than 2 percent overnight to fresh ten-month lows on Wednesday night, even after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that inventories had fallen more than expected, and oil prices continued to feel the pressure on Thursday morning. At 6:30 a.m. GMT U.S. WTI futures were unchanged at $42.53 per barrel and Brent crude futures were down 0.02 percent to $44.81 per barrel. Brent had closed down 2.6 percent on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia is likely feeling the pressure of struggling oil prices not only because as the leader of OPEC it is spearheading the production cuts, but because Saudi Aramco, a national petroleum and natural gas company, is planning for its IPO next year, and will need oil prices to remain above $50 per barrel in order for the IPO to be successful.
Global energy stocks were mixed on Thursday with Australian energy stocks slightly higher but oil stocks in South Korea and Japan remaining firmly in the red.
Currency Markets React
The dollar eased slightly against the yen on Thursday, trading down 0.37 percent to 111.00 yen. The dollar index was also marginally lower after easing 0.2 percent on Wednesday, to trade at 97.502 DXY. The euro held Wednesday’s 0.3 percent gain on Thursday morning, trading flat at $1.1172.
Traders on Thursday will be waiting for Taiwan’s central bank policy announcement after the closing bell and for Hong Kong’s first quarter data which will be released at 4:30 p.m. local time. The Philippine central bank will also be releasing a policy decision later on today.
