Oil edges lower despite decreased supply

Oil price fell slightly on Thursday despite the surprise drop in oil inventory last week. The Energy Information Agency on Thursday reported that U.S. crude oil supplies dropped 3.4 million barrels last week. Morgan Stanley later raised its oil price targets for the first quarter on geopolitical risks even as fundamentals remain weak. It set the target price to 125 dollars per barrel. On the economic front, the U.S. Commerce Department said housing starts last December dropped 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000 units. Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 352,000, the lowest level in nearly four years. This upbeat data helped boost investors' confidence in the U.S. economy and supported the oil price. Light, sweet crude for March delivery lost 22 cents, or 0.2 percent to settle at 100.54 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for March delivery gained 89 cents to settle at 111.55 dollars a barrel.