Investing.com - Oil futures fell in the early part of Monday’s Asian session as traders digested a couple of slack U.S. data points that were delivered last Friday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for June delivery fell 0.47% to USD92.56 per barrel in Asian trading Monday. Despite settling lower by 0.8% last Friday, Nymex oil futures rose 5% on the week, the biggest weekly advance since June.
U.S. data points helped force crude lower in Friday’s session. In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said U.S. GDP grew 2.5% in the first quarter, missing the consensus estimate of 3% growth.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of consumer confidence fell 2.8% to 76.4 in April. That reading is the same as April 2012. Economists expected a reading of 73.5. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer and reports such as employment, GDP and consumer data are viewed by traders as pivotal to oil’s upside.
In the week ahead, oil traders will be focusing on Friday’s data on U.S. non-farm payrolls, as investors attempt to gauge the strength of the economic recovery.
The European Central Bank meeting on May 2 and Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy statement are among this week’s events that could have market-moving potential for oil.
Elsewhere, Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil company, said it started production at the Kearl Sands oil project in Western Canada. Kearl Sands is believed to be home to 4.6 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.
Meanwhile, Brent futures for June delivery fell 0.24% to USD102.70 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for June delivery fell 0.47% to USD92.56 per barrel in Asian trading Monday. Despite settling lower by 0.8% last Friday, Nymex oil futures rose 5% on the week, the biggest weekly advance since June.
U.S. data points helped force crude lower in Friday’s session. In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said U.S. GDP grew 2.5% in the first quarter, missing the consensus estimate of 3% growth.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of consumer confidence fell 2.8% to 76.4 in April. That reading is the same as April 2012. Economists expected a reading of 73.5. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer and reports such as employment, GDP and consumer data are viewed by traders as pivotal to oil’s upside.
In the week ahead, oil traders will be focusing on Friday’s data on U.S. non-farm payrolls, as investors attempt to gauge the strength of the economic recovery.
The European Central Bank meeting on May 2 and Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy statement are among this week’s events that could have market-moving potential for oil.
Elsewhere, Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil company, said it started production at the Kearl Sands oil project in Western Canada. Kearl Sands is believed to be home to 4.6 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.
Meanwhile, Brent futures for June delivery fell 0.24% to USD102.70 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.