Crude oil futures slump on U.S. demand concerns
Investing.com
Published May 30, 2011 04:00AM ET
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at USD100.05 a barrel during European morning trade, shedding 0.68%.
It earlier fell as much as 0.95% to USD99.75 a barrel, the lowest price since May 26.
Data on Friday showed that pending home sales in the U.S. plunged to a seven-month low in April, while a separate report showed that consumer spending rose less-than-expected last month, underscoring worries over the pace of the U.S. recovery.
Meanwhile, speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped more oil in May weighed on prices and eased concerns over a disruption to global supplies.
Preliminary data from OPEC showed that Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Iraq increased their oil output in May to compensate for a further fall in Libyan production.
OPEC’s next meeting is scheduled for June 8 in Vienna. Global financial service provider Barclays said that, “The trigger for the next move higher, in our view, could be the upcoming OPEC meeting on June 8, where the lack of a proactive approach to mitigating the shortfalls in the market could serve to significantly tighten balances.”
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said in an interview on CNN on Sunday that an oil price of USD70 to USD80 a barrel was in the best interest of the kingdom
The rebellion in Libya, political turmoil in Bahrain and speculative buying are responsible for driving oil prices to more than $100 a barrel, Alwaleed said.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for July delivery edged 0.2% lower to trade at USD114.72 a barrel, up USD14.67 on its U.S. counterpart.
U.S. floor trading will be closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday, while U.K. markets were to stay closed for the Spring Bank Holiday. Electronic trades will be booked with Tuesday’s transactions for settlement purposes.
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Written By: Investing.com
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