Oil prices edged up on Thursday after two sessions of losses, as supply concerns over Libya returned to focus, while a smaller-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories sapped demand expectations.
The New Zealand dollar made solid gains on Thursday in the wake of an upbeat business outlook survey, while the U.S. dollar failed to sustain its bounce in the run up to a key U.S. inflation reading at the end of the week.
Most Asian stocks retreated on Wednesday with technology-heavy indexes falling in anticipation of earnings from market darling Nvidia, while Australian stocks sank on a sticky inflation print.
Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Wednesday, buoyed by industry data pointing to another outsized draw in U.S. inventories, while tensions in the Middle East and supply disruptions in Libya also offered support.
The dollar held near its lowest in more than a year against a basket of peers on Wednesday, with sterling trading just off multi-year highs, as markets focussed on clues to the size of a widely expected U.S. interest rate cut next month.
Oil prices paused recent advances to trade in a range on Tuesday, after a surge of more than 7% in the previous three sessions, on supply concerns prompted by fears of a wider Middle East conflict and the potential shutdown of Libyan oil fields.