Crude Oil falls as U.S. politics limit risk appetite

                Crude Oil futures traded lower in the early part of Tuesday’s Asian session as traders backed away from riskier assets on fears of U.S. government shutdown. 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures fell 0.08% to USD102.25 per barrel in Asian trading Tuesday. The November contract settled lower by 0.52% at USD102.33 per barrel on Monday. 

Oil traders appeared to gloss over some decent U.S. data and focused more political haggling in the U.S. that could result in a government closure. 

In U.S. economic news out Monday, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported earlier that its general business activity index increased to 12.8 in September from 5.0 in August, beating market calls for the index to remain unchanged.

Separately, industry data revealed that Chicago purchasing managers' index hit 55.7 in September from 53.0 in August, beating analysts' calls for a 54.0 reading. Those data points were strong enough to stoke speculation that the Fed could taper its monetary easing program before the end of this year. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer. 

On Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats are arguing over provisions in Obamacare, President Barack Obama’s sweeping health care legislation that was passed in 2010. Republicans want Obamacare delayed and some provisions in the law to be stripped altogether, but Senate Democrats have balked at that idea. 

New York-traded oil slipped 4.9% in September, but was still able to muster a third-quarter gain of 6%. If the U.S. government shuts down before the end of the week, it could delay the release of the September jobs report due out Friday. 

Elsewhere, Brent crude futures for November delivery fell 0.10% to USD108.20 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange. - investing.com