Commodity Daily News

Crude Trades near a 7 Day Low

Crude Oil prices dropped 1.5% yesterday as the department said the U.S. economy lost momentum heading into the second year of the recovery from the recession. Crude pared losses after Federal Reserve policy makers announced their first attempt to bolster growth since March 2009.

Oil hovered around $80 a barrel on Wednesday after data showed a rise in U.S. crude imports was offset by steps taken by the Federal Reserve to shore up the economic recovery.

Even though U.S. oil demand is expected to end a 4 year-old decline this year by rising 0.7%, analysts remain skeptical. Economic growth in the world's second-largest energy consumer is slowing slightly, although still remains robust as the government steers credit growth back to normal.