Forexpros - Crude oil futures fell to the lowest level in nearly four months during European morning hours on Monday, as the U.S. dollar continued to be underpinned by Friday’s stronger-than-expected jobs report and uncertainty ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential elections. Oil futures were further weighed amid growing concern over a slowdown in demand from the U.S. Northeast after Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the region last week. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD84.56 a barrel during European morning trade, shedding 0.35%. New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 0.5% earlier in the day to hit a session low of USD84.42 a barrel, the cheapest level since July 12. The greenback remained supported after the U.S. Department of Labor on Friday said the economy added 171,000 jobs in October, beating forecasts for an increase of 125,000. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% from 7.8% in September as more people re-entered the labor force. The stronger-than-expected data prompted market players to trim back expectations for another round of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve, bolstering demand for the greenback. The dollar also found support amid uncertainty over the outcome of Tuesday’s U.S. presidential elections, with opinion polls indicating a dead heat between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Adding to concerns, two days after the U.S. elections, China's ruling Communist party will begin its once-in-a-decade power shift. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the U.S. dollar against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.25% to trade at 80.85, the highest level since September 7. Oil prices typically weaken when the U.S. currency strengthens as the dollar-priced commodity becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies. The drop in crude also reflected concerns about demand lost in the Northeast because of Hurricane Sandy. Six refineries in the region curbed production because of Sandy, accounting for 1.22 million barrels of the area’s crude-processing capacity of 1.29 million barrels a day. Worries over a slowdown in U.S. oil demand intensified after weekly U.S. oil supply data showed that inventories exceeded 370 million barrels as of last week, the most for this time of year in at least 30 years. The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand. Elsewhere, oil traders continued to eye developments surrounding Spain, amid ongoing uncertainty over whether the debt-strapped country is moving closer to formally requesting a bailout from its euro zone partners. A bailout would allow the European Central Bank to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation. But Spain has been reluctant to do so because it may come with conditions on its budget. Concerns over political uncertainty in Greece and doubts over whether the country will meet austerity targets also weighed on sentiment. Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery declined 0.5% to trade at USD105.13 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD20.57 a barrel.

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