Forexpros – Crude oil futures extended last week’s losses into Monday on fears the global economy is cooling and in need of less fuels and energy.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD84.41 a barrel on Friday, down 0.05%, off from a session high of USD84.50 and up from an earlier session low of USD84.34.
Disappointing economic indicators continued to push oil prices down, especially weak jobs numbers out of the U.S.
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.
April figures were revised to 68,000 from 77,000 nonfarm payrolls, while May’s numbers were revised to 77,000 from 69,000.
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.
Investors continued to shrug off a European embargo on Iranian crude that took effect July 1.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery were up 0.55% and trading at USD98.37 a barrel, up USD13.96 from its U.S. counterpart.
Forexpros
