United States crude stocks rise unexpectedly as Cushing builds

Crude futures went up during Asian trade this Thursday and managed to recover some of the losses from its previous session when it fell sharply because the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and official figures showed United States inventories to be surprisingly high. Brent's February contract closed at $37.39, down $1.34.

"Last night's inventory data from the USA was clearly unsettling", said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, adding the Fed's rate hike was also behind the falls.

USA crude fell $1.45 to $35.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, closing in on the year's lowest domestic oil price settlement of $35.62 a barrel.

On Wednesday, the surprise build in US crude stockpiles pressured oil prices more than the Fed rate hike, which was expected and barely lifted the dollar.

Brent crude for February delivery LCOc1, the front-month contract from Thursday was up 17 cents at $37.56. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a decrease of 1.4 million barrels.

The commodity suffered fresh selling pressure on Wednesday after a report from the U.S. Department of Energy showed that crude supplies rose 4.8 million barrels in the week ending December 11. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries earlier this month effectively abandoned output limits while the White House on Wednesday announced its support for a deal reached by congressional leaders that would end the nation's 40-year restrictions on crude exports.

"It may take a little while to get going", Spooner said. ― File picHONG KONG, Dec 18 ― Oil traded below US$35 (RM151) a barrel and headed for a third weekly decline amid a surge in USA inventories and the first interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve in nearly a decade.