Investing.com - Crude prices edged lower in choppy trading on Monday due to ongoing concerns that the world is awash in crude at a time when demand remains soft.
Bottom fishing brought the commodity in and out of positive territory at times.
In the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in December traded down 0.27% at $81.84 a barrel during U.S. trading. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of $80.81 a barrel and a high of $82.73 a barrel.
The December contract settled up 0.13% at $82.06 a barrel on Friday.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $79.10 a barrel, Thursday's low, and resistance at $84.08 a barrel, Thursday's high.
Oil prices fell due to ongoing concerns that global supply far outstrips demand, with OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran recently hinting at the need to get used to current prices and leave output quotas on unchanged.
The oil cartel will hold its next biannual meeting in Vienna on Nov. 27.
Elsewhere, Germany’s Bundesbank reported that the country’s economy barely grew in the third quarter, as industrial output slowed and business sentiment deteriorated, which pressured prices lower on concerns a more sluggish European economy will consume less fuel and energy going forward.
In its monthly report the German central bank said that while the euro zone’s largest economy was unlikely to enter a recession the economic outlook for the fourth quarter was cautious.
Separately, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for December delivery were down 0.68% at US$85.58 a barrel, while the spread between Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at $3.74.