Crude slides on Chinese factory output figures, U.S. data

Crude oil futures fell in Asian trading on Monday on weaker-than-expected output data in China and in the U.S. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at USD91.53 a barrel on Friday, down 0.72%, off from a session high of USD91.63 and up from an earlier session low of USD91.47. Soft Chinese factory data sent oil prices falling on sentiment the global economy continues cooling. The HSBC China Manufacturing purchasing managers index came to 47.9 for September from 47.6 in August. A reading of 50 separates expansion and contraction. In the U.S., meanwhile, the Chicago purchasing managers' index contracted for the first time since September 2009, dipping to seasonally adjusted 49.7 compared to 53.0 August. Analysts had expected the Chicago PMI to remain unchanged at 53.0 in September. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final index on consumer sentiment for September fell to a seasonally adjusted 78.3 from 79.2 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 79.0 in September. The numbers painted a picture of a global economy in need of less fuels and energy to operate. On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery were down 0.35% and trading at USD111.75 a barrel, up USD20.22 from its U.S. counterpart.

Courtesy: ForexPros