U. S. crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, boosted by better-than-expected data on continuing jobless claims and regional manufacturing and supply disruptions in Nigeria.

New York Mercantile Exchange natural gas futures opened higher after strong gains early this week but settled lower at closing, pressured by EIA inventory report showing another large weekly storage build.

The U. S. Energy Information Administration report showed that total domestic gas inventories climbed to 2.557 trillion cubic feet, a record high for this time of year. Inventories now stand at 622 billion cubic feet, or 32 percent, above last year and 472 bcf, or 23 percent, above the five-year average.

The National Weather Service eight- to 14-day outlook on Thursday called for above normal temperatures for the Central U. S., with seasonal or below seasonal readings expected in the East and West.

We do not see any fundamentals, supporting the crude oil prices at these levels. We do not recommend buying crude oil at these levels. One can sell crude oil on a rise.

Natural Gas prices tanked on Thursday following the bearish inventory reports. We expect Nat Gas to recover some losses and trade sideways to up during the day. We recommend buying Nat Gas at dips.