Investing.com - Oil futures traded modestly lower in the early part of Monday’s Asian session following some mediocre U.S. data out last Friday and news that traders have been reducing their long bets on crude.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for September delivery inched down 0.05% to USD107.41 per barrel in Asian trading Monday. The September contract settled higher by 0.12% at USD107.46 per barrel last Friday.
Nymex oil futures rose 1.1% on the week. Prices rose in wake of bloody clashes between supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi and Egyptian security forces, which stoked fears that tensions may spread and involve the country's oil-rich neighbors or disrupt the flow of crude through the Suez Canal.
In U.S. economic news out last Friday, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment for August fell to 80 from 85.1 in July. The August reading was the worst in four months.
The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 5.9% to 896,000 units. Economists expected housing starts to rise to 900,000 units.
Elsewhere, data from the the Joint Organizations Data Initiative indicate several OPEC members trimmed shipment last month. Those countries include Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and Nigeria. Saudi Arabia is OPEC’s largest producer.
Russia’s oil production fell about 1% last month to 10.43 million barrels per day. The country, though not an OPEC member, is the world’s largest oil producer.
Long positions in oil fell 0.7% to 308,786 contracts for the week ending August 13, according to data from the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
Meanwhile, Brent crude for October delivery fell 0.16% to USD110.44 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for September delivery inched down 0.05% to USD107.41 per barrel in Asian trading Monday. The September contract settled higher by 0.12% at USD107.46 per barrel last Friday.
Nymex oil futures rose 1.1% on the week. Prices rose in wake of bloody clashes between supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi and Egyptian security forces, which stoked fears that tensions may spread and involve the country's oil-rich neighbors or disrupt the flow of crude through the Suez Canal.
In U.S. economic news out last Friday, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment for August fell to 80 from 85.1 in July. The August reading was the worst in four months.
The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 5.9% to 896,000 units. Economists expected housing starts to rise to 900,000 units.
Elsewhere, data from the the Joint Organizations Data Initiative indicate several OPEC members trimmed shipment last month. Those countries include Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and Nigeria. Saudi Arabia is OPEC’s largest producer.
Russia’s oil production fell about 1% last month to 10.43 million barrels per day. The country, though not an OPEC member, is the world’s largest oil producer.
Long positions in oil fell 0.7% to 308,786 contracts for the week ending August 13, according to data from the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
Meanwhile, Brent crude for October delivery fell 0.16% to USD110.44 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.