By Claudia Assis and Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures fell Monday as concerns about Europe, sluggish China data, and a weak start for U.S. stocks weighed negatively on prospects for oil demand.
Oil for June delivery CLM2 -1.69% dropped $1.65, or 1.6%, to $102.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Crude for delivery in May ended Friday up 78 cents, or 0.8%, to $103.05 a barrel. The contract expired at the end of trading Friday.
Monday’s weakness for oil came as the ICE dollar index DXY +0.53% traded at 79.436, up from 79.140 in late North American trading on Friday.
The dollar rose after news late Sunday the Socialist challenger for the French presidency, François Hollande, would face off incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round.
Hollande has vowed that, if he wins, he would reopen Europe’s recently negotiated fiscal compact, which aims to bring tougher budget rules across the currency bloc. Read more on currencies.
There was also negative news out of the Netherlands. An early general election is expected there after budget talks aimed at resolving fiscal issues and keeping the country’s triple-A credit rating broke down.
Meanwhile, a preliminary reading of a gauge of business activity in China worried investors. The HSBC Chinese manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a two-month high of 49.1, but readings below 50 indicate a contraction rather than an expansion. Read more on China PMI.
U.S. stocks honed on the China data and the concerns about Europe, also looking at allegations of bribery in the Mexican subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT -4.43%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -1.09% was recently off 150 points, or 1.1%, to 12,879.
Around the rest of the energy complex, May natural gas NGK12 +2.75% rose 3 cents, or 1.7%, to $1.96 per million British thermal units.
May gasoline RBK2 -0.42% traded down 3 cents, or 0.9%, at $3.12 a gallon, while May heating-oil HOK2 -0.74% fell 2 cents, or 0.7%, to $3.12 per gallon.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch.
Sarah Turner is MarketWatch's bureau chief in Sydney.
