Crude prices drop on equities weakness, dollar strength

Crude oil prices were lower Thursday after New York equities markets declined, but prices came off session lows after the US Labor Department reported that first-time jobless claims were down in the week ending 1 August.

Prices were also pushed lower by reports that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will increase shipments of crude oil in August, which led to speculation that the oversupply that already exists in US inventories will grow even more.

September contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down 46 cents to $71.51 per barrel just a few minutes before the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude was last reported 87 cents lower to $74.64 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

With plenty of crude oil in storage in the United States, some analysts blamed speculators for pushing prices above levels justified by fundamentals such as supply and demand.

Nymex September gasoline futures were down 1 cent to $2.05 per gallon while September heating oil fell 2 cents to $1.94 per gallon and September natural gas dropped 25 cents to $3.79 per million British thermal units.