Investing.com - Crude oil futures edged lower on Friday, as Thursday's disappointing U.S. home sales data continued to weigh and investors continued to focus on developments in Ukraine and the Middle East.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude oil for delivery in September traded at $101.95 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.12%.
Prices tumbled 1.02% on Thursday to settle at $102.07.
Futures were likely to find support at $100.61 a barrel, the low from July 17 and resistance at $103.31, Thursday's high.
The U.S. Census Bureau said on Thursday that new home sales dropped by 8.1% to 406,000 units last month, far worse than expectations for a 5.3% decline.
The data pointed to an underlying weakness in the housing sector, which stoked concerns that U.S. recovery is not red hot and may demand less fuel and energy than anticipated.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 19 declined by 19,000 to an more than eight-year low of 284,000, from the previous week’s total of 303,000.
The data fuelled speculation over the timing of a possible rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Traders also continued to monitor developments in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Pro-Russian rebels shot down two Ukrainian fighter jets on Wednesday, not far from where the Malaysian Airlines passenger plane was brought down in eastern Ukraine late last week. Separately, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced his resignation on Thursday following turmoil in the government.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil for September eased 0.01% to trade at $107.07 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at $5.12 a barrel.