By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Oil futures edged lower Monday, ticking down on apparent profit taking after a weak round of Chinese economic data blunted optimism over the potential for world growth stoked by last week’s unexpectedly strong February U.S. jobs report.
Nymex crude oil futures CLJ3 -1.01% fell 28 cents, or 0.3%, to $91.67 a barrel in electronic trade. April Brent crude UK:LCOJ3 -0.95% fell 88 cents, or 0.8%, in London to $109.97 a barrel.
Nymex crude ended Friday with a gain of more than 1% on the week, buoyed by data that showed the U.S. economy created 236,000 jobs in February and that the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since late 2008. See: U.S. economy adds 236,000 jobs in February.
Weekend data out of China, however, served to raise some concerns about the global economic picture. The powerhouse said consumer inflation jumped to 3.2% year-on-year in February from 2% in January, while industrial production grew more slowly in January and February and retail sales growth also slowed. See: China inflation climbs; other indicators soften.
April gasoline RBJ3 -1.29% rose 5 cents to $3.25 a gallon, while April natural gas futures were little changed at $3.63 per million British thermal units.
April heating oil was also little changed, trading at $2.98 a gallon.
William L. Watts is MarketWatch's European bureau chief, based in Frankfurt. Follow him on Twitter @wlwatts.
