2023.10.2619:35:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle At 2-week Low

Oil prices fell to a two-week low on Thursday as diplomatic efforts to stop Israel from a ground invasion of Gaza helped ease concerns about oil supplies.

Recent data showing a surge in U.S. crude inventories, and concerns about interest rates too weighed on oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $2.18 or about 2.6% at $83.21 a barrel.

Brent crude futures settled at $87.93 a barrel, down $2.20 or about 2.44%.

On Wednesday, data from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventory increased by 1.372-million-barrel last week, as against forecast for a drop of 0.45 million barrels.

Gasoline inventory rose by 0.156 million barrels last week, as against forecast for a decline of 1.266 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped by 1.686 million barrels, slightly lower than an expected drop of 1.75 million barrels.

"Oil prices remain under pressure on global growth concerns and as oil flows remain undisturbed as the Israel-Hamas war rages," says Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA.

"The crude demand outlook did not get any favors from the ECB decision that emphasized that the economy is weak and after a plethora of US economic data points suggest that this is as good as it gets regarding the economy," Moya adds.