Crude oil prices rallied modestly in early Thursday trading after the U.S. Labor Department said the unemployment situation continued to improve.
Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate both posted modest gains early Thursday, following a volatile Wednesday session, to trade at $64.21 per barrel and $60.16, respectively. Brent is trading about 1.4 percent below the start of June, while WTI, the U.S. benchmark, is relatively unchanged.
The U.S. Labor Department said Thursday weekly applications for unemployment insurance declined 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 267,000, holding close to the 15-year low reached earlier this year.
The Board of Governors at the U.S. Federal Reserve said Wednesday it expected U.S. economic activity to expand at a moderate pace, with mid-term labor market expansion expected. Though crude oil continues to trade in a weak market, the board said it expected to see "the transitory effects of earlier declines in energy and import prices dissipate."
Low crude oil prices have left bruises on state economies that depend on oil and gas production. The Labor Department said Texas, the No. 1 oil producer in the nation, was among the states posting the largest increases in initial claims for unemployment for the week ending June 6 with 3,489. California, the No. 3 oil producer, posted an increase of 10,917, while No. 2 producer North Dakota added a net 149 jobs.
An early session rally Wednesday was sparked in part by concerns from the Bank of Greece, which said the current debt crisis would "snowball into an uncontrollable crisis" without the support of international and European lenders.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was focusing all of her efforts on finding a solution to the Greek crisis.
