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Oil drops on signs of weak US Demand ahead of Key Jobs Report

On Thursday, oil prices fell, reversing the gains of the previous session. This was due to concerns about weak U.S. Demand after data from the government showed an unexpected build-up in inventories.

Brent crude futures dropped 24 cents or 0.35% to $68.87 per barrel at 0044 GMT, after rising 3% on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 24 cents or 0.36% to $67.21 per barrel, after previously rising 3.1%.

Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that domestic crude stocks rose by 3.8 millions barrels, to 419,000,000 barrels. In a poll, analysts had predicted a drop of 1.8 millions barrels.

The gasoline demand fell to 8,6 million barrels a day, causing concern about the consumption during peak summer driving in the United States. The benchmarks rose on Wednesday, after Iran passed a law that suspended cooperation with the U.N. Nuclear Watchdog. This sparked fears the long-running dispute over Middle East producer Iran's nuclear program could once again escalate into an armed conflict. The U.S. reached a deal with Vietnam that imposes 20% tariffs on most of the Southeast Asian nation's exports. This gives investors a feeling of economic stability in international trade, which could lead to a higher demand for crude oil.

Analysts said that the market will closely monitor the release of Thursday's key U.S. employment report to determine the timing and depth of Federal Reserve interest rate reductions in the second half this year.

Lower interest rates may spur economic activity and, in turn, increase oil demand. Analysts cautioned that there was no correlation between the private payrolls report and government data. (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger; Nicole Jao)

(source: Reuters)