Crude oil futures end lower on Thursday

05 Jan 2024 Evaluate

Crude oil futures ended lower on Thursday following the release of the Energy Information Administration's report on oil inventories in the week ended December 29th. While the report showed a bigger than expected decrease in crude oil inventories, gasoline and distillate fuel inventories moved sharply higher. The report said crude oil inventories slumped by 5.5 million barrels after tumbling by 7.1 million barrels in the previous week. Street had expected inventories to fall by 3.7 million barrels. Meanwhile, Meanwhile, the EIA said gasoline and distillate fuel inventories spiked by 10.9 million barrels and 10.1 million barrels, respectively.

Benchmark crude oil futures for February delivery fell by $0.51 or 0.70 percent to settle at $72.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery declined by $0.66 or 0.84 percent to settle at $77.59 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange. 

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×