Forexpros – Crude oil futures softened in early Asian trading Monday after shooting up on hopes that Europe is tackling its debt crisis.
Sentiment that Chinese and U.S. economies are poised to resume more robust growth bolstered crude as well.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD99.16 a barrel, down 0.25%.
The commodity dipped to USD99.11 a barrel earlier in the session before climbing steadily, taking a breather after spiking to USD99.67.
On Friday, the European Union agreed on greater fiscal integration to battle the debt crisis there.
While markets recognized the continent still has a way to go before emerging from the debt crisis and a probable recession, investors saw greater fiscal integration as a step in the right direction.
A stronger dollar didn’t offset crude’s early advances, as the two asset classes often move inverse of each other.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.18% at 79.28 early Monday.
In China, meanwhile, import data showed a rising demand for crude oil, which also firmed the commodity.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery were down 0.27%, trading at USD108.50 a barrel, up USD9.34 on its U.S. counterpart.
The gap in price between the two contracts hovers roughly midway between the nearly USD20.00 gap all-time high and a historical spread of USD1.00.
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