Investing.com - Financial Markets Worldwide
Get 40% Off
Get 40% Off
🚨 Volatile Markets? Find Hidden Gems for Serious OutperformanceFind Stocks Now

Oil slightly higher after touching 3-week low

Published 06/23/2013, 08:41 PM
Updated 06/23/2013, 08:41 PM

Investing.com - Oil futures nudged higher in the early part of Monday’s Asian session after crude touched a three-week low last week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for August delivery inched up 0.05% to USD93.74 per barrel in Asian trading Monday after settling down 1.3% last Friday to close the week at USD93.89 a barrel.

Oil prices plunged 3% on Thursday after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank could begin slowing asset purchases by the end of 2013 and wind them down completely by the middle of 2014 if the economy picks up as the central bank expects.

The central forecast 2013 U.S. economic growth of 2.3% to 2.6% while adding it expects the unemployment rate to drop to between 6.5% and 6.8% by the end of 2014. Since the U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer, those numbers are pivotal to oil demand, but the forecasts may not be robust enough for some traders to send oil higher.

China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, is perhaps even more of a concern. Last week, China’s HSBC preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 48.3 in June from 49.2 in May as new orders declined, indicating that the slowdown in manufacturing is worsening.

Elsewhere, Iraq said it exported 76.9 million barrels of oil last month, or 2.48 million barrels per day, a 5% drop from April’s numbers. Iraq, an OPEC member cited poor weather and pipeline sabotage as reasons for the output decline.

China’s Sinopec, that country’s second-largest oil producer, will reportedly pay USD1.52 billion for Marathon Oil’s Angolan offshore oil and gas field. Marathon is based in Texa.

Meanwhile, Brent futures for August deliver fell 0.27% to USD100.66 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.


3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads .

Latest comments

Install Our App
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.