IV:Crude oil futures lower after weak China data, stronger dollar weighs
Investing.com - Crude oil futures were lower on Monday, as appetite for growth-linked assets weakened after data showed that industrial production in China rose at a slower rate than expected last month.
Oil prices also struggled due to a stronger U.S. dollar, as dollar-priced commodities become more expensive to investors holding other currencies when the greenback gains.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in June traded at USD95.25 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.8% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 1% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD95.05 a barrel.
Official data released earlier showed that industrial production in China rose 9.3% in April, below expectations for a 9.5% increase and following an 8.9% rise the previous month.
Separate data showed that retail sales in China increased by 12.8% in April, in line with expectations.
The weaker-than-expected data fuelled concerns that China’s economic recovery was stalling.
China is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and has been the engine of strengthening demand.
Meanwhile, the dollar was in demand as recent strong U.S. employment data fuelled speculation over an earlier-than-expected end to the Federal Reserve’s USD85 billion a month asset purchase program.
Data on Thursday showed that showed that U.S. initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level since January 2008 in the week ending May 4.
Earlier this month official data showed that the U.S. economy added more jobs than forecast in April, pushing the unemployment rate to a more than four-year low of 7.5%.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, rose 0.15% to hit 83.28.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for July delivery shed 0.9% to trade at USD103.03 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD7.77 a barrel, the lowest level since December 2011.
The gap between the contracts has narrowed sharply in recent weeks, amid an improving production outlook in the North Sea and indications of declining stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex oil futures.
