Crude back below $85; natural gas, petroleum products also weaker By Claudia Assis and Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures retreated Monday, feeling the pinch of a manufacturing slowdown in China and paring sharp gains made to close out the second quarter. Crude for August delivery CLQ2 -2.07% lost $1.46, or 1.7%, to trade at $83.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices ended Friday with their largest one-day percentage gain since 2009 — up more than 9% — as investors welcomed European leaders’ plan to stabilize the region’s banking sector. Read more on oil's Friday rally. However, Chinese economic data “dampened the mood,� analysts at JBC said in a note to clients Monday. The final reading of HSBC’s China manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for June showed the gauge slipping to 48.2, down from 48.4 in May. It exceeded a preliminary estimate of 48.1, but it was the lowest level since March 2009, according to HSBC. Read more on China's PMI. U.S. equity markets opened in a narrow range ahead U.S. manufacturing data, and the dollar was stronger, keeping the pressure on for oil. The ICE dollar index DXY +0.31% , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, rose to 81.836, from 81.658 late Friday. Read more on currencies. A stronger greenback is a negative for oil and other commodities, as it makes the commodity more expensive to holders of other currencies. Other energy futures tracked crude lower to begin the holiday-shortened trading week, with natural gas and gasoline the top losers. August natural gas NGQ12 -1.95% retreated 6 cents, or 2%, to $2.77 per million British thermal units, while gasoline for the same month’s delivery RBQ2 -1.90% was off 5 cents, or 1.8%, to $2.58 per gallon. August heating oil HOQ2 -1.78% lost 5 cents, or 1.7%, to $2.66 per gallon. Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch. Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.

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