Crude Oil Rebounds, Ends Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil snapped a five-day loss to end sharply higher on Thursday, as Chinese equity markets rebounded while easing concerns of a slowdown in the global economy. With no signs of any breakthrough in talks between Iran and the West with the deadline looming, concerns of a supply glut eased as it could take at least a month before Iranian crude begins to flow into global markets after sanctions are lifted.

As concerns about Greece seeped in, minutes from the Fed's most recent meeting showed policy makers to be in no hurry to raise interest rates. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told the European parliament that he would submit a detailed reform plan to the eurozone later today.

Even if Greece exits the eurozone, the relatively robust U.S. economy should continue to grow through the year, bolstered by easy money from the Federal Reserve. Minutes from the Fed's recent meeting showed policy makers to be in no hurry to raise interest rates.

Chinese stock markets rallied today after some brutal losses as authorities brought in another raft of unorthodox measures such as banning major shareholder selling for the next six months.

China's central bank also said it would provide sufficient liquidity to China Securities Finance Corp., the state-backed margin finance company. Additionally, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said it would encourage banks to support companies' share buybacks by offering them collateralized loans.

In some disappointing economic news, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly showed another increase in the week ended July 4, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday, with claims reaching their highest level in over four months.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, jumped $1.13 or 2.2 percent, to settle at $52.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Crude prices for August delivery scaled a high of $53.54 a barrel intraday and a low of $51.48.

On Tuesday, crude oil prices shed $0.68 or 1.3 percent, to settle at $51.65 a barrel, on renewed fears of a supply glut after official data from the Energy Information Administration showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. to have increased more than expected last week.

A weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude oil inventories increased 0.4 million barrels in the week ended July 3, while analysts expected stocks to decline 1.1 million barrels.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 96.65 on Thursday, up from its previous close of 96.22 on Wednesday in late North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 96.76 intraday and a low of 95.97.

The euro trended lower against the dollar at $1.1011 on Thursday, as compared to its previous close of $1.1077 in North American trade late Wednesday. The euro scaled a high of $1.1125 intraday and a low of $1.0993.

In economic news, a Labor Department report showed initial jobless claims to have climbed to 297,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week's revised level of 282,000. Economists expected jobless claims to dip to 276,000 from the 281,000 originally reported for the previous week.

China's inflation increased more than expected in June as both food and non-food prices moved higher, while producer prices continued its downward trend. Consumer prices increased 1.4 percent year-on-year in June after rising 1.2 percent in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. Inflation was expected to rise marginally to 1.3 percent.

Eurozone house prices increased in the first quarter after a drop in the prior quarter, preliminary figures from Eurostat showed Thursday. House prices rose 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the three-month period to March, in contrast to a 0.6 percent decrease in the previous three months.

Germany's exports grew unexpectedly in May, taking the trade surplus to a record high, data from Destatis revealed Thursday. Exports rose 1.7 percent from the prior month, confounding expectations for a 0.8 percent fall. It was the fastest growth since December, when it grew 2.9 percent. In April, exports had climbed 1.6 percent.

At the same time, German imports rebounded in May, up 0.4 percent versus a 0.8 percent drop in April. Economists had expected a 0.1 percent gain. As a result, the trade surplus increased to a record EUR 22.8 billion from a revised EUR 21.5 billion in April.

British house prices increased at the fastest pace in eleven months in June, the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed on Thursday. The survey showed that monthly house price balance climbed to +40 in June from +34 in May, while it was expected to increase slightly to +36. It was the biggest rate of growth since July 2014.

The International Monetary Fund lowered its global growth forecast for the year, due to an unexpected decline in output in the United States and warned that uncertainty in Greece and re-balancing in China pose risks to the outlook.

In the July update to its World Economic Outlook, released Thursday, the Washington-based lender forecast 3.3 percent global growth for this year, which is smaller than the 3.5 percent predicted in April. The global growth projection for next year, however, was maintained at 3.8 percent. Global growth was 3.4 percent in 2014 and 2.2 percent in the first quarter of this year, the report said.