Crude Oil Ends Lower At $58, Ahead Of OPEC Meet

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil slumped to end lower for second straight session on Thursday, ahead of the crucial meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries due Friday in Vienna. This was the lowest settlement for over a week.

The OPEC cartel is expected to maintain its robust production, hoping to damage non-OPEC competitors with low oil prices that are more acceptable to rich OPEC nations.

Prices were supported by news that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 1.9 million barrels from the previous week.

Greece, meanwhile, has told the International Monetary Fund of its plans to combine loan repayments due this month into one lot of around $1.7 billion, according to news reports citing IMF and Greek officials. The move indicate Greece could have a deal on fresh bailout funding with its international lenders.

Investors also continued to search for cues from the Federal Reserve about the impending interest rate hike. The rate hike appear to be delayed until at least September given the lackluster U.S. economic data that has been released in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has suggested the Federal Reserve delay raising interest rates until next year, following its latest consultation on the U.S. economy. The IMF's call for delaying the first rate hike came as the lender lowered its forecast for U.S. economic growth this year to 2.5 percent from 3.1 percent.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for July delivery, the most actively traded contract, plunged $1.64 or 2.8 percent, to settle at $58.00 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Crude prices for July delivery scaled a high of $59.94 a barrel intraday and a low of $57.83.

Meanwhile, Greece informed the International Monetary Fund that it will combine four debt payments due in June into a single payment by the month end. The beleaguered country is reported to have reached an agreement with its creditors after several protracted negotiations.

The euro, which was trading higher just before the Greek plans, dropped against the dollar following the announcement.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 95.46 on Thursday, up from its previous close of 95.38 on Wednesday in late North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 95.58 intraday and a low of 94.65.

The euro trended lower against the dollar at $1.1254 on Thursday, as compared to its previous close of $1.1275 in North American trade late Wednesday. The euro scaled a high of $1.1381 intraday and a low of $1.1227.

On the economic front, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits declined modestly in the week ended May 30, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday. Initial jobless claims edged down to 276,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 284,000. Economists expected claims to slip to 278,000 from the 282,000 originally reported for the previous week.

U.S. labor productivity fell more than expected in the first quarter of 2015, reflecting a much bigger than previously estimated drop in output, a Labor Department report on Thursday said. Productivity in the first quarter tumbled by a revised 3.1 percent compared to the previously reported 1.9 percent decrease. Economists expected a revised decrease of about 2.9 percent, which would still reflect a notable acceleration from the 2.1 percent drop seen in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, the report also said unit labor costs jumped by an upwardly revised 6.7 percent in the first quarter as compared to the previously reported 5.0 percent increase. Costs had been expected to surge up by a revised 6.0 percent.

From Europe, German construction sector activity slowed in May, reaching its lowest in four month as civil engineering activity declined, survey data from Markit Economics showed Thursday. The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the construction sector, declined to 50.8 in May from 51.0 in the previous month.

French unemployment rate decreased unexpectedly in the first quarter, though slightly, data from the statistical office Insee showed Thursday. The jobless rate, measured according to International Labour Organisation standards, edged down to 10.3 percent in the three months ended March from 10.4 percent in the fourth quarter. Economists had expected the rate to remain stable at 10.4 percent.

U.K. house prices dropped for the first time in three months in May, data from Lloyds Banking Group's Halifax division showed Thursday. House prices edged down unexpectedly by 0.1 percent month-on-month in May, reversing April's 1.6 percent increase. This was the first fall since February. Prices were forecast to grow 0.2 percent from April.