By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Oil futures fluctuated between small gains and losses Monday as investors still feared a global slowdown would mean less demand for oil, but U.S. stocks traded slightly higher, giving hope for more consumption.
Crude for November delivery CL1X -0.20% added 3 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $79.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil earlier traded as low as $77.11 a barrel and as high as $80.85 a barrel.
A negative settlement would be oil’s fourth in a row.
Futures settled 0.7% lower on Friday as investors rushed for cash on fears the European debt crisis would intensify and provoke a liquidity crunch, and the U.S. is headed for lower growth at best.
“The markets seem to have lost any faith that governments are capable of leading us back to solid growth,” analysts at Cameron Hanover said in a note to clients.
Oil lost 9.2% last week, including a 6.3% selloff on Thursday.
But stocks on Monday navigated in the black, providing some support for oil. Equities are seen as a barometer of economic activity and, by extension, of oil consumption. Stocks and oil frequently trade in tandem, and oil futures have ignored supply-and-demand fundamentals to rise or fall alongside stocks.
Earlier Monday, investors grappled with news from the government that sales of new U.S. homes fell 2.3% in August to an annual rate of 295,000, marking the fourth decline in a row.
Sales last month dropped to the lowest level since February. After a peak at 316,000 in April, new-home sales have gradually declined. The report came in better than expected, however.
Other energy products inched higher alongside crude. October gasoline RB1V +0.61% edged up 2 cents, or 0.9%, to $2.58 a gallon. October heating oil HO1V +0.19% gained 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $2.81 a gallon.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch.
