12.07.201807:32:00UTC+00Crude Oil Steadies After Dramatic Plunge

Crude oil futures steadied Thursday morning after a plunging in the previous session.

Analysts say renewed production from Libya and a strong U.S. dollar caused oil prices to crater.

Yesterday, August West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $3.73, or 5%, to $70.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the biggest daily decline in a year.

That's despite the Energy Information Administration reporting that domestic crude supplies plunged by 12.6 million barrels for the week ended July 6. The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a drop of 6.8 million barrels.

WTI oil was up 45 cents to $70.82 a barrel this morning.

Today's economic calendar features U.S. consumer price inflation data.

Overseas, German consumer prices climbed 2.1 percent year-over-year in June, just below the 2.2 percent rise in May, final data from Destatis revealed. That was in line with the flash estimate published on June 28.