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Forexpros – Crude oil futures moved lower in Asian trade Tuesday, on expectations of a decline in global energy demand in light of falling equities on renewed concerns of debt default by Greece.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for November delivery traded at USD76.28 a barrel during early Asian trade, falling 0.35%, after hitting a daily low of USD76.67.
Earlier Monday, the Greek government announced its 2011 fiscal deficit would total 8.5% of gross domestic product, well short of the 7.6% target set out by European finance officials as a prerequisite to obtaining a new round of rescue funds.
Officials from the so-called troika–the European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, were meeting in Greece to decide on the disbursement of a new tranche of funds, which Greece desperately needs in order to avoid default on its obligations in the coming weeks.
EUR/USD fell to an eight-month low following news on Greece, putting further pressure on oil futures as dollar-denominated futures contracts tend to fall when the dollar rises making them more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, added 0.13% to 80.19.
Crude losses were moderated by encouraging manufacturing numbers released Monday by the U.S. Institute for Supply Management, that its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose 51.6 in the month of September, up from 50,6 the previous month.
Market expectations were for the index to register 50.5 for the period.
Also Monday, Markit Economics released data showing that manufacturing in the euro-zone expanded slightly, as the the Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose to 48.5 in September from 48.4 in August.
On the ICE Futures Exchange Brent oil futures for November delivery lost 0.29% to trade at USD100.67.
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