Crude oil futures ended lower on Thursday on profit booking after recent gains. Further, worries about the outlook for energy demand following weak economic data from China, and a firm dollar weighed as well on crude oil prices. Crude oil prices rose despite data released by U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed U.S. crude inventory dropped by 6.307 million barrels during the week ended September 1. Gasoline stockpiles declined 2.666 million barrels last week, substantially larger than an expected drop of 0.950 million barrels. Meanwhile, distillate stockpiles increased 0.679 million barrels last week, nearly three times the expected increase of 0.239 million barrels.
Benchmark crude oil futures for October delivery fell $0.67 or 0.9 percent to settle at $86.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for November delivery dropped $0.68 or 0.75 percent to settle at $89.92 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.