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The increase in U.S. crude inventories shows no sign of a slowdown, and supplies are holding around an 80-year high despite declines in the number of rigs drilling for oil.
Crude for delivery in March CLH5, +1.23% settled at $48.84 a barrel, down $1.18, or 2.4%. Prices dropped more than 5% on Tuesday.
Brent crude for March delivery LCOH5, +0.77% fell $1.77, or 3.1%, to $54.66 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange.
Gold futures on Wednesday marked their lowest close in about a month as some investors lost interest in the metal on the back of a stronger U.S. dollar.
Gold for April delivery GCJ5, +0.11% fell $12.60, or 1%, to settle at $1,219.60 an ounce on Comex. Prices, based on the most-active contracts, haven’t settled at a level this low since Jan. 8.
Here are the latest trading levels for Asia's major stock markets:
Tokyo (Nikkei Average NIK, +1.86% ) up 1.9%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.59% ) up 0.6%
Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -0.15% ) down 0.2% (at break)
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.40% ) down 0.2%
Seoul (Kospi SEU, -0.37% ) down 0.5%
Mumbai (Sensex 1, +0.02% ) up 0.5%
Taipei (Taiex Y9999, +0.02% ) down 0.1%
The euro slipped in Asian trade Thursday while most equity markets sank after talks between Greece and its European creditors on restructuring the country's bailout broke up without agreement.
Japanese investors bucked the regional trend, lifting the Tokyo market as the yen retreated against the dollar thanks to investors betting on the US Federal Reserve hiking interest rates by the middle of the year.
Japan's Nikkei, which was closed Wednesday for a public holiday, rallied 1.78 per cent.
However, Hong Kong lost 0.16 per cent, Shanghai fell 0.18 per cent and Seoul dipped 0.44 per cent.
MALAYSIA share prices opened lower on Thursday with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index down 8.26 points to 1790.69.
Volume was 21.34 million lots worth RM28.66 million.
Losers outnumbered gainers 78 to 68.
