Oil lower as demand concerns rise
Published Jul 29, 2013 08:52PM ET
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for September delivery fell 0.24% to USD104.30 per barrel in Asian trading Tuesday after falling slightly to USD104.55 per barrel in U.S. trading Monday.
Oil was pressured a bit Monday following more mediocre U.S. economic data. In U.S. economic news out Monday, the National Association of Realtors said its Pending Homes Sales Index fell 0.4% to 110.9 in June and the May reading was revised lower to 111.3 from 112.3.
Escalating violence in Egypt is seen as a potential catalyst that could work in favor of oil bulls in the near-term. While Egypt is not a major oil exporter, the Suez Canal is an important transport corridor for crude produced in the Middle East to reach global markets.
However, continued slack economic data out of China is a strong card for oil bears. If Friday’s U.S. jobs report for July is not impressive, crude will likely fall further as the U.S. and China are the world’s two largest oil consumers.
Economists expect the U.S. economy created 185,000 jobs last month, short of the 200,000 nine-month average, CNBC reported.
Last week was oil’s first weekly loss in five weeks after advancing 15% in the previous four, indicating the commodity could be overbought and due for a pullback.
China delivers its official July PMI reading Wednesday following last week’s disappointing HSBC flash reading. Further softness in the official number could send crude sliding.
Elsewhere, Brent futures for September delivery fell 0.18% to USD107.39 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
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Written By: Investing.com
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