MW: Crude futures ease a bit further away from $100
By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Crude crude-oil prices slipped a little further away from the $100-a-barrel level in electronic trading Monday, tracking a fall in U.S. stock index futures and pressured by a stronger dollar.
Crude for January delivery CL2F -1.40% slipped 21 cents, or 0.2%, to $99.20 a barrel on Globex during Asian market hours.
Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -1.01% futures were down 26 points to 12,117 during Asian afternoon hours. Also reflecting investor caution, the dollar edged higher against major currencies, with investors on guard against possible rating agency downgrades for Europe. Read currencies report.
The decline in crude came after a recovery Friday, when the front-month contract added $1.07, after European leaders agreed on new, tighter fiscal rules and data on U.S. consumer sentiment showed an improvement.
Still, “if the market moves higher again on Monday after a weekend’s reflection, the European Union developments may take on a more positive afterglow, emphasizing the positive elements of recent developments,” said Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective.
The January contract of natural gas NG12F -1.96% dropped 6.5 cents to $3.252 per million British thermal units.
Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau.
