US oil price rebounds

U.S. oil price rose on Thursday, bouncing back from Wednesday's slump, although U.S. commercial crude oil inventories jumped to a record high last week. The U.S. crude supplies climbed 3 million barrels to 397.6 million last week, hitting the highest level since the start of the weekly data in 1982, according to the Energy Information Agency. While the oil price was underpinned as the worse-than-expected economic data sparked speculation that the Federal Reserve might maintain the stimulus program. In the week ending May 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment aid was 354,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's upward revised figure of 344,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The figure was much higher than economists' forecast of 345,000. Separately, the U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the first quarter of 2013, slightly down from an initial estimate of 2.5 percent, said the Commerce Department in its second estimate of the GDP. The U.S. dollar fell against the euro, bolstering the appeal of the dollar-priced oil for investors. Light, sweet crude for July delivery gained 48 cents, or 0.51 percent, to settle at 93.61 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for July delivery went down 24 cents, or 0.23 percent, to close at 102.19 dollars a barrel.