Investing.com - U.S. oil futures came off the lowest levels of the session on Thursday, after data showed that manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region expanded at a faster rate than expected in January.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in March traded at USD94.31 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, down 0.05%.
New York-traded oil futures fell by as much as 0.65% earlier in the day to hit a session low of USD93.74 a barrel. The March contract rallied to USD94.82 a barrel on Wednesday, the highest since January 3, before trimming gains to settle at USD94.35 a barrel.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at USD92.63 a barrel, the low from January 15 and resistance at USD95.73 a barrel, the high from January 3.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index improved to 9.4 this month from December’s reading of 6.4. Analysts had expected the index to rise to a reading of 8.6 in January.
The data came after a report showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell to a six-week low.
The Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending January 11 declined by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 328,000. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to hold steady at 328,000 last week.
A separate report showed that U.S. consumer prices rose by 0.3% last month, matching forecasts, after holding flat in November. Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy costs, inched up 0.1% last month, meeting estimates. Core consumer prices rose 0.2% in November.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for February delivery fell 0.1% to trade at USD106.14 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at USD11.83 a barrel.
London-traded Brent prices have been under pressure in recent sessions as the prospect of a rise in Iranian and Libyan oil exports weighed.