IV:Crude oil futures slip lower amid U.S. budget talks
Investing.com - Crude oil futures slipped lower during early European trading hours on Friday, as negotiations continued in the U.S. to hammer out a deal on the budget before hitting the debt ceiling deadline.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at USD102.70 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.31%.
The November contract settled up 1.38% at USD103.01 a barrel on Thursday.
Oil futures were likely to find support at USD101.21 a barrel, Thursday's low and resistance at USD103.75 a barrel, the high of October 9.
No deal emerged after a 90-minute meeting between President Barack Obama and Republican leaders on Thursday, but talks continued into the night in an effort to reopen the government and avoid a possible U.S. debt default.
President Obama has demanded Republicans raise the U.S. debt ceiling and reopen the government before negotiations on future fiscal policy can take place.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew reiterated Thursday that the U.S. will reach its debt ceiling on October 17 and warned that the political crisis is starting to hurt the economy. The comments came during testimony to the Senate finance committee.
Oil prices had strengthened on Thursday, as geopolitical developments in Libya raised fresh concerns oil production in the country will be disrupted.
A group of former rebels aligned with the country’s interior ministry detained Prime Minister Ali Zaidan from a hotel in Tripoli earlier Wednesday and took him to an unknown location.
He was later freed after the government said he was seized based on false information that an arrest warrant had been issued for him.
Libya is Africa's biggest holder of crude oil reserves. Countries in the Middle East and North Africa were responsible for 36% of global oil production and held 52% of proved reserves in 2012.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery fell 0.31% to trade at USD111.46 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD8.76 a barrel.
