Crude Oil Ends Near Flat; Dollar Weakens

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil settled a tad higher Monday, under pressure from rising inventories with the dollar trending lower against a basket of major currencies as investors opted for some bargain buying. Investors also weighed the prospect of the U.S. Federal Reserve continuing its monthly bond-buying program untouched for the foreseeable future.

New orders for U.S. manufactured goods showed a notable increase in September, rebounding from an unexpected decrease in August. Last week, China's purchasing managers' index, a measure of factory sector performance, rose to 51.4 in October from 51.1 in September, which was ahead of economists' estimates of 51.2 rise.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, inched up $0.01 to close at $94.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday.

Crude prices for December delivery scaled a high of $95.11 a barrel intraday and a low of $94.06.

Last week, oil lost about 3 percent to dip near a fresh 4-month low after some strong macroeconomic data fueled concerns that the Federal Reserve may begin tapering its quantitative easing program much earlier than expected.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.62 on Monday, down from 80.72 late Friday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.93 intraday and a low of 80.53.

The euro traded higher against the dollar at $1.3513 on Monday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3487 late Friday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3524 intraday and a low of $1.3442.

In economic news from the U.S., the Commerce Department said factory orders jumped by 1.7 percent in September after edging down by 0.1 percent in August. While the increase in orders in September matched economist estimates, orders had been expected to rise by 0.3 percent in the previous month.

Meanwhile, Institute for Supply Management-New York's current business conditions index for the New York City region improved in October to 59.3 from 53.6 in September. The index was at 60.5 in August. A reading above 50 indicates expanding activity.

From the eurozone, Germany's manufacturing sector grew at a faster-than-expected rate during October, led by growth in production and new orders, survey data released by Markit Economics showed .The final Markit/BME Germany Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 51.7 from September's 51.1. The flash estimate was 51.5.

Meanwhile, the eurozone manufacturing sector carried its modest third quarter recovery into the final quarter of the year as initially estimated, final data from Markit Economics showed. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 51.3, in line with flash estimate from 51.1 in September.

Elsewhere, the U.K. construction output grew at the steepest pace since September 2007, survey results from Markit Economics showed. The Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply construction Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 59.4 in October, up from 58.9 in September and above the 50.0 no-change threshold for the sixth consecutive month.

During the week, focus will be on the U.S. Labor Department's non-farm payrolls report for October, the jobless claims report, the Commerce Department's personal income & spending report, the preliminary consumer sentiment index based on a survey by Reuters and the University of Michigan and the results of the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing survey for October.

Investor focus will also be on the crude oil inventories data from the American Petroleum Institute due Wednesday after the market hours and the Energy Information Administration due the subsequent day.