By Claudia Assis and William L. Watts, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Oil futures swerved between small gains and losses Monday, supported by fears that Norway could see a production shutdown and dragged by concerns about the global economy.
Oil for August delivery CLQ2 +0.27% rose 25 cents to $84.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded as high as $85.21 a barrel and as low as $84.
In Norway, oil producers and striking offshore workers failed to reach agreement during the weekend.
News reports quoted the oil industry association as threatening to close offshore production Tuesday unless the government intervenes to halt the labor dispute, which has entered its third week.
The dispute centers on calls by oil workers for a blanket agreement that would allow offshore personnel to retire early with a full pension at 62, instead of 65, news reports said.
Norway is the world’s fifth largest oil exporter.
Semisubmersible crane vessel in operation near Stavenger, Norway.
Analysts at JBC Energy estimated about 150,000 barrels a day of output capacity is offline due to the strike, and an additional 40,000 barrels a day are missing due to a production shutdown in one of Norway’s main fields.
Oil futures ended lower on Friday after the U.S. Labor Department reported the U.S. economy created only 80,000 new jobs in June, falling short of forecasts for growth of around 100,000.
Markets were lower after China’s Premier Wen Jiabao said downward pressure on the world’s No. 2 economy is still “relatively large.”
The European debt crisis continued, with Spain’s 10-year government bond rising above 7% Monday. European finance ministers gathered in Brussels Monday to discuss measures to combat the crisis.
Other energy products traded mostly lower, with gasoline RBQ2 -0.07% off 1 cent, or 0.4%, to $2.71 a gallon.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch.
William L. Watts is MarketWatch's European bureau chief, based in Frankfurt.
