Brent crude futures were trading up at $55.41 during Thursday’s Asian session, up 0.5 percent from their last close. U.S. WTI crude was also up 0.5 percent to $52.60 per barrel after the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced that gasoline stockpiles fell by 869,000 barrels last week, a surprising report compared to the expected gain of 1.1 million barrels. Nevertheless, traders remain skeptical that the oil prices will retain their gains.
"We remain highly skeptical of the overnight price action," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA. Both WTI and Brent prices remain down nearly 5 percent since the start of the year, even with Thursday’s gains.
Dollar Also Rises
The U.S. dollar also rose during Thursday’s Asian session after falling further on Wednesday. The dollar gained 0.3 percent against the yen to trade at 112.265. The dollar also gained slightly against the euro, to trade at $1.0678. The dollar index was trading at 100.370, a 0.1 percent increase. The New Zealand dollar was down 0.8 percent against the greenback, trading at $0.7201, and retreating from three-month highs hit earlier this week. On Thursday the Reserve Bank of New Zealand held interest rates at a record low of 1.75 percent and noted that future tightening policies are likely at least two years away.
Traders are now eying Friday’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe which could send the yen higher if President Trump continues to disparage Japanese monetary policy.