TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures edged lower in electronic trading Monday, holding their ground below the $70-a-barrel level on concerns over weak demand.
Crude for July delivery fell by 25 cents to $69.30 per barrel on Globex by the afternoon in Tokyo. The contract expires at the end of the New York trading session Monday, which will likely contribute to volatility on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
On Friday, July crude fell $1.82, or 2.6%, to end at $69.55 -- ending below $70 for the first time since June 8 and posting a weekly loss of 3.3%.
"Apart from the [election] problems in Iran, there are reports of renewed attacks on oil pipelines in Nigeria," analysts at Credit Suisse wrote in a research note Monday. "Both events were of concern to the market early in the trading session, before oil sold off on unfavorable fundamentals."
"The outlook remains challenging in light of weak demand and high spare production capacity," they said.
