Crude falls on weak U.S. retail sales data

Investing.com - Crude oil futures fell in Asian trading on Wednesday after the U.S. government reported weaker-than-expected retail sales for May.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at USD82.56 a barrel on Monday, down 0.08%, off from a session high of USD82.67 and up from an earlier session low of USD82.38 in rather volatile trading

Earlier in the U.S., the Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in May, while April’s figure was revised to a 0.2% decline from a previously reported gain of 0.1%.

The data represented the first back-to-back decline in two years, and fueled fears that the economy continues to battle headwinds.

Meanwhile, core retail sales, which are stripped of automobile sales, fell by 0.4% in May, the biggest decline in a year.

Producer price inflation fell 0.1% in May, while core producer price inflation fell 0.2% in May, the latter being the largest monthly decline since July 2009.

On top of dismal jobs data and tepid growth rates, the retail sales numbers confirmed fears the U.S. economy is recovering at a slower pace and will need less fuels to operate.

Spanish debt fears continued to push oil prices lower.

European finance ministers recently arranged EUR100 billion for Spain’s banks although fears persist that even when the funding recapitalizes the country's financial institutions, Spain will still carry hefty debt burdens that could hamper access to credit markets.

The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds hit 6.76%, close to the critical 7% threshold deemed unsustainable.

Meanwhile Greece goes to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament, which further pressured crude on fears a strong leftist showing may open the door to a Greek exit from the eurozone.

On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery were down 0.01% and trading at USD96.69 a barrel, up USD14.13 from its U.S. counterpart.