By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures entered a second day of losses on Monday as investors await for a plethora of U.S. and overseas macroeconomic data later in the week.
Crude for July delivery CL1N -0.88% declined 79 cents, or 0.8%, to $98.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil traded 2.6% lower on Friday, hit by news Saudi Arabia will pump more oil in July amid concerns demand is weakened as the global recovery gives signs of faltering.
China is slated to release a slew of indicators later Monday, including consumer prices, retail sales, and industrial production. The U.S. upcoming data includes retail sales, business inventories, and consumer inflation.
“It‘s a little perplexing why (West Texas Intermediate) is so weak,“ said Kyle Cooper, managing director of IAF Advisors in Houston.
Brent futures traded higher, with the July contract up 83 cents, or 0.7%, to $119.61 a barrel on ICE Futures in London.
The price difference between Brent and Nymex-traded WTI has reached new highs, as the U.S. benchmark is considered a more local market, subject to the worries about a slowdown in the United States. Brent “is still considered a world market,” with investors seeing emerging-markets demand still strong, Cooper said.
Oil futures also failed to catch any tailwind from a weaker dollar. The U.S. currency fell against major rivals as investors appeared to be more optimistic about Greece’s sovereign-debt woes and the euro gained.
The dollar index, which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six currencies, traded at 74.549 from 74.801 late Friday. Read more about currencies.
The broader suite of energy products traded lower Monday. Gasoline for July delivery RB1N -0.03% declined less than 1 cent, or 0.1%, to $3.01 per gallon.
July natural gas NG11N -1.89% declined 9 cents, or 2%, to $4.66 per million British thermal units.
