(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil edged down Monday morning amid a strengthening dollar ahead of September industrial output data. Also, weakness in the global equity markets weighed on trader sentiment.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for November delivery were down $0.17 to $81.08 a barrel. Last week, the price of oil shed nearly 2% to recorded it first weekly loss in four.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was leveling off from its 8-month low versus the euro and sterling, while recovering from its record low against the Swiss Franc. However, the greenback continued to linger near its 15-year low versus the yen.
Today's data on September industrial output from the U.S. will be in focus. Economists expect factory output increased 0.3% in September following a 0.2% increase in August.
This week traders will look to the data on housing starts, building permits and weekly jobless claims, apart from the weekly crude oil inventories data from the API and EIA.
