Crudeoil settled down -0.62% at 5973 as expectations of rising oil inventories in the United States were balanced by heightened tension in Ukraine. Also a weak Chinese manufacturing report sent oil prices falling on Monday on fears the world's second-largest consumer of crude will continue to see a cooling economy. A final reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 48.1 April, down from a preliminary estimate of 48.3 and missing forecasts for an uptick to 48.4. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction, which pushed oil prices lower on Monday.
Investors were paying close attention to events unfolding in Ukraine, after conflict between the government and pro-Russian separatists grew more widespread over the weekend. Fears that shipments from Russia, the world's secondlargest exporter, will suffer gave oil some cushion in afternoon trading as did residual applause from Friday's upbeat U.S. jobs report.
The Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in April, well above expectations for jobs growth of 210,000, while the unemployment rate dropped to a five-and-a-half year low of 6.3%. Also supporting oil was an upbeat report on the U.S. service sector released earlier Monday. In a report, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to a five-month high of 55.2 in April, from a reading of 53.1 in March, compared to expectations for a rise to 54.1.