Forexpros – Crude oil futures remained sharply lower on Monday, weighed by a broadly stronger U.S. dollar as risk appetite was hard hit by investor concerns over sovereign debt issues in the euro zone and the U.S.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD95.70 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, tumbling 2.05%.
The greenback gained broadly earlier, boosted by ongoing worries over the euro zone’s sovereign-debt crisis. A stronger dollar typically weakens oil prices by making the dollar-denominated commodity more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Meanwhile, government data showing that Japanese exports fell in October, down for the first time in three months also weighed. Japan is the world’s third largest crude oil consumer.
In the U.S., a formal announcement on the failure of a U.S. congressional “super committee” to agree on a package of measures to slash USD1.2 trillion off the U.S. deficit over the next 10 years was expected later in the day.
Oil prices were largely unchanged after industry data showed that U.S. existing home sales unexpectedly rose in October.
The National Association of Realtors said home sales climbed 1.4% to an annual rate of 4.97 million units from September’s revised rate of 4.90 million.
Meanwhile, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery were down 1.29% to trade at USD106.19 a barrel.
Brent crude losses came as concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone overshadowed fears that ongoing unrest in Syria and Egypt as well as tensions over Iran’s nuclear program could disrupt Middle Eastern output.
On Sunday, the energy minister of OPEC president Iran told Al Jazeera television that his country could use oil as a political tool in the event of any future conflict over the country’s nuclear program.
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