By MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures slipped Thursday as optimism faded over a surprise drop in supplies, while gold futures retreated in the face of stronger equities.
Gold for February delivery fell $6.60, or 0.5%, to $1,379.80 an ounce, while oil for January delivery slipped 37 cents to $88.25 a barrel.
Commodities eased back despite a weaker dollar, as investors cast a favorable eye on equities. U.S. stock-market futures posted mild gains.
Oil and gold futures barely wavered in the wake of slightly better-than-expected employment data. U.S. first-time jobless claims fell 3,000 to 420,000 in the latest week. Read more about initial jobless claims.
The dollar index (DXY 80.09, -0.18, -0.22%) , a measure of the U.S. unit’s performance against a basket of six other currencies, slipped to 80.054, down from 80.190 on Wednesday.
Analysts at Susquehanna Financial Group noted that Wednesday’s inventory update helped boost crude-oil futures on an overall drop in supplies, but a closer look at the data revealed sizable builds in distillates and higher supplies in Cushing, Okla.
Also on the commodities front, natural-gas prices retreated 0.9% to $4.19 per million British thermal units.
