Investing.com - Oil futures declined in the early part of Monday’s Asian session as traders turn their attention to yet another European sovereign debt conference. European finance ministers will meet in Brussels later today to discuss options for debt-riddled Cyprus, Greece and Spain.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for February delivery slipped 0.31% to UDS95.75 per barrel. Last week, oil futures surged 2.2%, posting their sixth consecutive weekly gain. U.S. floor trading will be closed today in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday.
Following a bullish fourth-quarter GDP report and assorted other encouraging economic news out of China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, last Friday, oil futures rose in Asian.
However, oil came under pressure in the U.S. after the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan initial index of consumer sentiment for January fell to 71.3 from 72.9. Economists expected a preliminary reading of 75. The initial January reading is the lowest since December 2011. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer.
That report combined with Italy saying its economy will likely contract by 1% this year sent some traders away from riskier assets such as oil into the safe haven that is the U.S. dollar.
Elsewhere, the Joint Organizations Data Initiative claims seven members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reduced oil output in November. That list includes Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer.
The Joint Organizations Data Initiative also said Angola, Iraq, Ecuador, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela also pared production two months ago.
Elsewhere, efforts to resume stalled oil production in South Sudan have hit a snag, according to press reports. In other African oil-related news, sources say the death toll at an Algerian natural gas facility is 80 or more following a four-day siege there.
Meanwhile on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for March delivery fell 0.12% to USD111.67 per barrel. Brent rose 1.1% last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for February delivery slipped 0.31% to UDS95.75 per barrel. Last week, oil futures surged 2.2%, posting their sixth consecutive weekly gain. U.S. floor trading will be closed today in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday.
Following a bullish fourth-quarter GDP report and assorted other encouraging economic news out of China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, last Friday, oil futures rose in Asian.
However, oil came under pressure in the U.S. after the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan initial index of consumer sentiment for January fell to 71.3 from 72.9. Economists expected a preliminary reading of 75. The initial January reading is the lowest since December 2011. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer.
That report combined with Italy saying its economy will likely contract by 1% this year sent some traders away from riskier assets such as oil into the safe haven that is the U.S. dollar.
Elsewhere, the Joint Organizations Data Initiative claims seven members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reduced oil output in November. That list includes Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer.
The Joint Organizations Data Initiative also said Angola, Iraq, Ecuador, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela also pared production two months ago.
Elsewhere, efforts to resume stalled oil production in South Sudan have hit a snag, according to press reports. In other African oil-related news, sources say the death toll at an Algerian natural gas facility is 80 or more following a four-day siege there.
Meanwhile on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for March delivery fell 0.12% to USD111.67 per barrel. Brent rose 1.1% last week.