Oil prices fell from a seven-week high today as an unexpected rise in new US jobless claims cast a shadow over a recovery in the economy and oil demand, outweighing a drop in US crude inventories.
US crude for September delivery, which expires at today’s close, was down 53 cents at $71.89 a barrel at 5.26pm after earlier reaching $72.88, its highest level since June 30.
London Brent fell $1.29 a barrel to $73.30.
The number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits last week unexpectedly rose to 576,000 from 561,000 the week before.
But underscoring the uneven nature of the economic recovery, the index of US leading economic indicators rose for a fourth month in July, signalling that a recession is abating. The index rose a less-than-expected 0.6%, versus analyst forecasts for a 0.7% rise.
Oil prices had surged 4.7% yesterday, after data from the US Energy Information Administration showed an unexpected drop in US crude stocks last week.
Stocks fell last week by 8.4 million barrels, the biggest weekly drop in 14 months. The drop was spurred by a 1.4 million barrel per day fall in US crude imports, the biggest fall in over 11 months.
