Brent crude oil prices hit their lowest since late August yesterday on worries about growing US stockpiles, while the US dollar took a breather from recent gains.

US stocks were mostly lower in choppy trading, with the drop in oil prices weighing on energy shares. European shares ended up 0.7 per cent.

Copper prices traded higher after nearing a six-year low on mixed Chinese data which showed growth in the world’s second-biggest economy was still in low gear. Oil prices fell as traders awaited government data, expected to show another weekly build in US.crude stockpiles. The Energy Information Administration will issue official inventory data today, a day later than usual due to the Veterans Day holiday yesterday.

Brent fell $1.63 to settle at $45.81 a barrel, while US crude fell $1.28 to settle at $42.93.

The dollar, which had been on a charge since strong US jobs data last week boosted the probability of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike next month, slid against most major currencies.

“The moves today look technical more than anything, but there is some dollar weakness,” said Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of FX research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

The US bond market was closed for Veterans Day, adding to the day’s muted trading in other US markets.

The dollar index was down 0.3 per cent to 98.969 after touching its highest in seven months on Tuesday.

The euro gained 0.25 per cent against the dollar after comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at the Bank of England Open Forum, even though he did not address monetary policy. Gains in technology shares, including Microsoft, helped to offset losses in US stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 26.23 points, or 0.15 percent, to 17,731.98, the S&P 500 lost 2.7 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 2,079.02 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.01 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 5,082.23. It was the second straight day of what investors described as largely directionless trading.

MSCI’s all-country world index was up 0.2 per cent, while European shares closed up 0.7 per cent after well-received earnings reports from companies including Henkel.

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