(RTTNews) - Crude oil moved lower in early trading, giving back some of yesterday's rally, amid worries demand is not improving as hoped.

Light sweet crude for December rose to $79.75 per barrel, down 64 cents on the session. Prices dipped as low as $79.58 after hitting as high as $80.52.

Oil rose yesterday after Energy Information Administration data showed crude oil inventories decreased by 4.0 million barrels compared to the previous week. Experts had forecast an increase of 1.3 million barrels.

The EIA also reported that motor gasoline demand has averaged 9.0 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, unchanged from the same period last year. Distillate fuel demand has dropped 14.8 percent and jet fuel demand is 3.1 percent lower.

Traders also continued to react to the Federal Reserve's decision to leave the target for the federal funds rate at a range from zero and a quarter percent. The central bank also repeated its assessment that "exceptionally" low rates will continue for an "extended period."

On the economic front Thursday, the Labor Department reported productivity increased by 9.5 percent in the third quarter following a revised 6.9 percent increase in the second quarter. Economists had expected productivity to rise by 6.5 percent compared to the 6.6 percent growth originally reported for the previous quarter.

A separate Labor Department report showed that jobless claims fell to 512,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 532,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to edge down to 522,000 from the 530,000 originally reported for the previous week.

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