Investing.com - Crude oil futures fell on Friday, to trade near two-week lows as disappointing U.S. spending data sparked concerns over the outlook for demand from the world's top consumer of oil.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude oil for delivery in August traded at $105.62 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.21%.
Prices dropped 0.62% on Thursday to settle at $105.84.
Futures were likely to find support at $103.59 a barrel, the low from June 12 and resistance at $106.81, Thursday's high.
On Thursday, data showed that U.S. personal spending rose 0.2% last month, below expectations for an increase of 0.4%. Personal spending for April was revised to a flat reading from a previously reported decline of 0.1%.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Labor showing that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 21 declined by 2,000 to 312,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 314,000.
Oil prices remained under pressure after data on Wednesday showed that the U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate of 2.9% in the first three months of the year, compared to the consensus forecast for a decline of 1.7%.
U.S. first quarter GDP was initially reported to have increased by 0.1%, but was subsequently revised to show a contraction of 1.0%.
The difference between the second and third estimate was the largest since records began in 1976, the Commerce Department said.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil for August delivery fell 0.17% to trade at $113.02 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at $7.4 a barrel.