Investing.com - Oil futures traded lower in the early part of Monday’s Asian session as traders in the region reacted to a pair of mediocre U.S. data points out last Friday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for December delivery fell 0.26% to USD97.60 per barrel in Asian trading Monday. The December contract settled higher by 0.76% at USD97.85per barrel last Friday.
Despite that decent Friday showing, oil futures slipped 3.22% last week, the sixth weekly decline in the past seven weeks. Oil futures were likely to find support at USD95.95 a barrel, the low from October 24 and resistance at USD100.29 a barrel, the high from October 22.
Oil came under pressure Monday as traders in Asia digested tepid data out of the U.S., the world’s largest oil consumer.
In U.S. economic news out Friday, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 3.7% last month, beating expectations for a 2.3% gain. The August reading was revise up to 0.2% growth from 0.1%. Excluding transportation, orders fell 0.1% against expectations of a 0.5% rise.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment fell to 73.2 in October from 77.5 in September. That is the lowest reading since December 2012. Economists expected an October reading of 75.
In the week ahead, investors will be focused on the outcome of Wednesday’s Fed policy setting meeting. The central bank is expected to keep its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program on track.
Elsewhere, Brent futures for December delivery lost 0.19% to USD106.95 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange. Brent futures lost 2.73% last week.
