Crude oil futures remain lower on increased US inventories

Crude oil futures continued to fall Thursday as traders expected that US supplies would be enough to meet peak demand during the summer driving season.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil futures for June delivery fell 33 cents to end at 46.92 dollars a barrel, while London's Brent oil futures for July delivery shed 27 cents to settle at 47.88 dollars a barrel.

With US crude oil inventories rising to 334 million, the highest level in nearly six years, traders became more confident about the supply during the summer driving season.

However, analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. warned that the recent decline did not accurately reflect the strength of global demand and low oil inventories in Asia. They expected New York crude-oil to rise roughly 10 percent for the rest of this year, citing economic growth in the United States and other countries.

Source: Xinhua