Oil futures fell for a fifth consecutive day, marking the longest declining streak since 2008. WTI futures dropped by 2.63 percent to last settle at USD $ 97.18 per barrel. In the process, they have dropped by 15 percent since their price at 29th April of USD $ 113.93 a barrel. Brent crude futures were at USD $ 109.13 a barrel, falling by 1.51 percent.
The decline in oil futures was due to a strengthening US Dollar against the Euro. Ever since the European Central Bank announced that contrary to expectations, they were not raising interest rates to tackle rising inflation, the Euro has been depreciating against the US Dollar. Consequently, the attractiveness of the US Dollar has increased, while that of commodities has decreased, leading to a decline in their demand.
Crude Futures’ interday rally was better off. WTI futures increased by 2.6 percent on account of data released by the US Labour Department, which showed that the number of people employed increased in April by 244,000,the largest monthly increase since May 2010.
However, oil futures reversed the earlier gains and settled at USD $ 97.18 a barrel because of an Energy Department report. The report stated that last week, oil supplies in the US increased by 0.9 percent to 366.5 million barrels. This showed that the US market is sufficiently supplied, which led to the reduced speculation about oil supplies, hence lowering the price.