The price of crude oil was little changed Friday morning as traders focus to the developments in the U.S. budget talks.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for January delivery, edged up $0.05 to $88.12 a barrel. Yesterday, oil snapped its three-session losing streak to settle higher on some upbeat macroeconomic economic data and optimism of a deal in the U.S. budget talks. Oil jumped a nearly two percent after President Barack Obama expressed confidence over a deal, indicating that he was hopeful the White House and Congress could reach an agreement before Christmas.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was was lingering near its one month low versus the euro and sterling. The buck was trading firm around its 7-month high versus the yen, while ticking lower against the Swiss franc.
In economic news, the euro area unemployment rate reached a fresh high in October, with the jobless rate rising marginally to 11.7 percent, in line with expectations, from 11.6 percent in September, data published by Eurostat showed.
Separately, the Eurostat said euro zone's annual inflation, as measured by the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) eased more than expected in November. The HICP rose 2.2 percent year-on-year in November, slower than 2.5 percent increase in October. Economists expected the rate of inflation to fall to 2.4 percent.
Elsewhere in the region, German retail sales declined at a sharper-than-expected pace in October as waning economic momentum and rising unemployment eroded consumer willingness to spend. Retail sales fell 2.8 percent month-on-month on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis in October, the Federal Statistical Office said. Economists expected sales to fall 0.4 percent after a 0.5 percent gain in September.
Traders will look to the report on personal income and spending from the U.S. Commerce Department due out at at 8:30 am ET. The consensus estimates call for a 0.3 percent month-over-month increase in personal income, while personal spending may have edged up by 0.1 percent. In September, personal income rose 0.4 percent and personal spending climbed 0.8 percent.
