Investing.com - Crude oil futures eased higher during U.S. afternoon hours Monday, as investors stuck to the sidelines amid uncertainty ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential elections despite a stronger greenback.
Oil futures were pressured by growing concern over a slowdown in demand from the U.S. Northeast, as refineries in the region remained closed after Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the area last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD84.98 a barrel during U.S. afternoon trade, higher by 0.14%.
New York-traded oil prices traded in a range between USD85.34 a barrel, the daily high and a session low of USD84.36 a barrel, which was the cheapest level since July 12.
Oil traders remain focused on the outcome of Tuesday’s U.S. elections, with opinion polls pointing to a close race between incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
If the election comes down to a thin margin in a swing state such as Ohio, the outcome could be delayed for days or weeks.
Oil futures were weighed amid concerns over demand lost in the Northeast in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Hess Corporation’s Port Reading and Phillips 66’s Bayway refineries in New Jersey remained shut, curbing demand for crude a week after the storm struck the U.S. East Coast.
Worries over a slowdown in U.S. oil demand intensified after weekly U.S. oil supply data showed that inventories exceeded 370 million barrels as of last week, the most for this time of year in at least 30 years.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Greece was also on investors mind, as the country’s parliament prepared to vote on the latest rounds of austerity measures on Wednesday, which could determine if Athens receives its next tranche of financial aid.
Elsewhere in the euro zone, markets continued to eye developments surrounding Spain, amid ongoing uncertainty over whether the debt-strapped country is moving closer to formally requesting a bailout from its euro zone partners.
Oil prices were lower earlier in the day, as the U.S. dollar rose to a five-week high against the euro, after Friday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report prompted investors to trim back expectations for another round of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the economy added 171,000 jobs in October, beating forecasts for an increase of 125,000. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% from 7.8% in September as more people re-entered the labor force.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the U.S. dollar against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.27% to trade at 80.87, the highest level since September 7.
Oil prices typically weaken when the U.S. currency strengthens as the dollar-priced commodity becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery declined 0.3% to trade at USD105.39 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD20.52 a barrel.