Crude Oil Settles Sharply Lower

Updated from 12:01 p.m. EDT

Oil futures had a volatile session Thursday, initially falling on overnight strength in the U.S. dollar and then rising following bullish inventory figures before again turning lower.

West Texas crude for July delivery settled down $4.41 at $126.62 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude lost $4.04 at $126.89 a barrel, and reformulated gasoline eased 4 cents to $3.40 a gallon.

After losing roughly $2 a barrel near the open of the trading session, crude futures bounced $3 in a matter of seconds upon the release of the latest oil inventory report by the Energy Department. However, the gains were short-lived, and crude began to pull back. ...