Forexpros – Crude oil futures erased last week’s meteoric gains posted on news that European leaders were taking greater strides to battle their debt crisis.
A European embargo on Iranian crude took full effect on July 1, though crude fell early in Asian trading.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD84.25 a barrel on Monday, down 0.83%, off from a session high of USD85.03 and up from an earlier session low of USD84.25.
Profit-taking sent oil prices falling amid otherwise bullish news for the commodity.
The Bank of Japan early Monday reported that its Tankan Manufacturing index rose to a seasonally adjusted -1 in the second quarter from -4 in the preceding quarter.
Analysts were forecasting the Tankan Manufacturing index to remain unchanged at -4.
The index measures sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers.
Meanwhile on July 1, a European ban on Iranian crude went into effect though the date didn’t come as a surprise.
The embargo forms part of a series of sanctions imposed on Iran by the West for its nuclear ambitions, although Iran proactively cut shipments to parts of Europe earlier in the year.
Crude skyrocketed late last week, however, on stronger-than-expected measures taken at a European Union summit to battle the debt crisis and begin more lasting recovery.
The European Union gave its rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism, approval to recapitalize banks directly as well as the green light to buy government bonds directly to ease credit conditions in troubled countries.
E.U. policymakers also agreed to launch a supervisory organization for eurozone banks by the end of this year.
Profit taking early in the session sent the commodity falling.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery were down 0.81% and trading at USD96.83 a barrel, up USD12.58 from its U.S. counterpart.
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