Forexpros – Crude oil futures dropped in early Tuesday trading on news a Norwegian oilworkers’ strike appeared set to end when the government intervened and ordered a settlement, which eased supply concerns.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD85.13 a barrel on Tuesday, down 1.02%, off from a session high of USD85.15 and up from an earlier session low of USD84.11.
Norwegian law allows the government to step in and end labor disputes.
Crude was also lower on residual sentiment that the global economy continues to battle headwinds.
In Europe on Monday, the German Sentix research institute reported that its investor sentiment index for the entire eurozone economy fell to -29.6 in July from -28.9 in June, the worst level in three years.
Markets were forecasting a -26.7 reading.
On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the economy added a net 80,000 nonfarm payrolls in June, below market forecasts for a gain of around 90,000.
The service sector in the U.S. also dipped in June, a separate report shows.
The Institute of Supply Management’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 52.1 in June from 53.7 in May.
Markets were predicting a 53.0 reading.
A cooling Chinese economy and uncertainty over Europe’s fate kept oil prices down as well.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery were down 1.01% and trading at USD98.92 a barrel, up USD13.19 from its U.S. counterpart.
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