ND:Oil futures decline with U.S. demand woes, Iran talks in focus
Investing.com - Crude oil futures declined on Monday, as ongoing concerns over slowing demand from the U.S. continued to weigh.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD94.17 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.35%.
New York-traded oil futures traded in a range between USD94.03 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD94.49 a barrel.
The January contract settled 0.08% higher on Friday to end at USD94.49 a barrel.
Oil futures were likely to find support at USD92.51 a barrel, the low from November 14 and resistance at USD95.22 a barrel, the high from November 12.
U.S. oil futures retreated 0.8% last week, the sixth consecutive weekly decline and the longest losing streak since December 1998.
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.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 388.1 million barrels as of last week, the highest since June.
Oil prices came under additional pressure after Saudi Arabia's Joint Organizations Data Initiative said the country produced approximately 10.12 million barrels of oil a day and shipped 7.84 million barrels in September.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery fell 0.65% to trade at USD107.82 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD13.65 a barrel.
Traders focused on a resumption of talks between Iran and major powers scheduled for November 20 in Geneva. Talks aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program and relaxing sanctions against the oil producer stalled earlier in the month.
Trade sanctions slapped on Iran due to its alleged nuclear ambitions have taken out more than one million barrels per day of oil from the global market.
London-traded Brent prices have been well-supported in recent sessions amid growing concerns over violence in Libya. The country's deputy intelligence chief was kidnapped on Sunday, underlining fears over a disruption to supplies from the country.
