IV:Crude oil trades at 3-1/2 month-low ahead of U.S. jobs report
Investing.com - Crude oil futures traded at a three-and-a-half-month low on Tuesday, as markets were jittery ahead of a highly anticipated U.S. employment data expected later in the trading session.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD99.48 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.2%.
New York-traded oil futures held in a range between USD99.27 a barrel, the daily low and the weakest level since July 2 and a session high USD99.65 a barrel.
The December contract ended 1.41% lower at USD99.68 a barrel on Monday.
Oil futures were likely to find support at USD97.78 a barrel, the low from July 2 and resistance at USD101.70 a barrel, the high from October 18.
The delayed September nonfarm payrolls report, which had been originally scheduled for release on October 4, will be published later Tuesday.
The data was expected to show the U.S. economy added 180,000 jobs in September ahead of the U.S. government shutdown.
Oil traders have long been taking cues from the monthly jobs report, the most-closely followed indicator of U.S. employment, because it offers insight into the economic health of the world's biggest crude-oil consumer.
U.S. crude prices have been on a downward trend in recent weeks amid concerns the recent U.S. government shutdown created a drag on economic growth and eroded demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Monday that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 4 million barrels in the week ended October 11, above expectations for an increase of 2.2 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 374.5 million barrels, the highest level since late June.
The data was delayed to the government shutdown. The EIA’s data-release schedule will return to normal this week, with the publication of October 18 storage data due on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery inched up 0.35% to trade at USD110.02 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD10.54 a barrel, the widest since late April.
