•Crude futures were range-bound in European morning trading Thursday despite further missile tests by Iran, with the market digesting the mixed set of US oil data published Wednesday.

•Iran's military test-fired more missiles in the Gulf on Thursday, the website of state television reported, on the third day of war games that have added to tensions with the West.

•Wednesday's EIA data failed to sway the markets on close, but did prompt an afternoon selloff despite a bullish start to the day. "The market was close to a technical breakout yesterday. We saw another 'selloff and recover.' There appears to be support at $136/b, if it holds we may see some more interest in the buy-side today," a London-based trader said. EIA data showed a larger-than-expected US crude oil draw of 5.9 mil barrels.

•"This week's stock plunge likely stemmed from a dip in Alaskan output that was as short-lived as it was brutal," Antoine Halff said in a report for Newedge. "Yet the continuous draw [prompts] the question, how long can refiners keep depleting their stocks?" he added.

Updated: July 10, 2008