Oil was steady above $68 on Thursday, after settling unchanged a day earlier, as a steep fall in US gasoline inventories offset a smaller-than-expected drop in crude stocks in the world's top energy user. By 0540 GMT, US crude for October delivery was up 23 cents at $68.28 a barrel, after settling at $68.05 on Wednesday. London Brent crude rose 8 cents to $67.74 a barrel.
While steady for the last two days, oil is still down more than 6 percent so far this week, having dropped nearly $5 a barrel on Monday and Tuesday as worries over the health of the global economy and the US financial sector sent investors scurrying for cover. US inventories sent mixed signals, with a 400,000-barrel drop in crude stocks last week, but gasoline inventories showed a steep 3-million-barrel drop as US fuel demand rose slightly over year-earlier levels.
Economic data was also not convincing, with US private employers cutting 298,000 jobs in August, less than July but more than the 250,000 job losses economists had expected, while new orders at US factories rose 1.3 percent in July, but below economists' expectations.
Key data due later is expected to provide more trading cues. At 1230 GMT, the US Labor Department will release first-time claims for jobless benefits for the week ended August 29. Economists polled by Reuters forecast a total of 560,000 new filings, down from 570,000 in the prior week.