2014.06.2609:04:00UTC+00Crude Oil Slightly Lower As Inventories Build

Crude oil prices are slightly lower Thursday morning amid demand worries following recent soft economic data.

Wednesday's crude inventory data from the EIA that showed an unexpectedly large rise in crude stockpiles also weighed on crude prices.

Meanwhile, traders are looking ahead to data on U.S. jobless claims and personal spending, due this morning.

Markets are also watching the developments in Iraq. According to reports, the Iraqi parliament is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the process of creating a new government.

Crude oil futures for August delivery are down $0.17 or 0.15 percent at $106.34 a barrel

On Wednesday, crude oil futures ended up $0.47 or 0.4 percent at $106.50 a barrel, after rising to $107.50 a barrel intrady, amid fears the ongoing violence in Iraq could disrupt oil supplies from the region.

The U.S. government's decision to ease ban on crude exports contributed as well to oil's rise. Investors shrugged off weekly oil data that showed a more than expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles last week.

Meanwhile, natural gas for August is up $0.030 or 0.67 percent at $4.600 per million btu.

On the economic front, the U.S. Labor Department is scheduled to release its jobless claims report for the week ended June 21st at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect claims to have declined to 310,000 from 312,000 in the previous week.

Around the same time, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on personal income and spending. The consensus estimate calls for a 0.4 percent month-over-month increase each in personal income and personal spending.

The Kansas City Federal Reserve will release the results of its manufacturing survey at 11 am ET. Economists expect the manufacturing index for June to slip to 9 from 10 in May.