Excon Fuji Securities report that Crude oil futures held steady around USD 100 a barrel awaiting the announcement of the Italian bond auction later in the day. Preliminary data indicated that Japan's economy increased by 1.5%, well above expectations, which provided support for Crude prices.
According to New York Mercantile Exchange, futures of light sweet crude for delivery in December traded at USD 91.35 a barrel declining 1.97%. Brent oil futures for December delivery traded at USD 107.76 a barrel with a pullback 1.63%.
Meanwhile, the dollar index kept increasing for a second day, gaining 0.75% to trade at a seven-day high of 77.24. Oil prices typically pull back when the USD strengthens as it becomes costly for investors using other currencies.
Crude futures continued its losing streak after official data indicated that China's purchasing managers' index dropped from 51.2 to 50.4.
Crude oil futures found support on November 16th, as the expectations that the European Central Bank was buying Spanish and Italian government debt rose market sentiment. The prices found support after the announcement of the U.S. Department of Labor stated the consumer price index fell 0.1% in October. Analysts expected that the CPI metric to hold steady last month after rising 0.3% in September.
Back on Tuesday, Crude oil futures jumped for the second day rallying to a six-month high after news of the reversal of a key U.S. oil pipeline raised the hopes that the supply in the United States will be decreased. By the end of the month, according to the ICE Futures Exchange data, Brent oil futures for January delivery traded at USD 107.86 a barrel increasing 0.8%.
