Investing.com – Crude oil futures were down on Monday, retreating from a six-week high as fears over a possible U.S. sovereign debt default raised concerns over the short-term energy demand outlook from the world’s largest oil consumer.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD98.96 a barrel during European morning trade, shedding 0.8%.
It earlier fell as much as 0.95% to trade at a daily low of USD98.75 a barrel.
With time running out, Democrats and Republicans from the U.S. Congress split into two camps and held talks among themselves over the weekend.
House Speaker John Boehner told Republican lawmakers on a conference call Sunday evening that no "grand deal" on raising the debt ceiling was possible with President Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Republican "intransigence" was "pushing us to the brink of a default on the full faith and credit of the United States."
Any debt limit increase must pass both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-run Senate and be signed by President Obama.
The deadlock prompted White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley to warn that there would be a "few stressful days" ahead for financial markets, as the deadline to raise the USD14.3 trillion debt ceiling was only nine days away.
Barclays said in a report earlier that, “The U.S. remains a source of constant concern, and overall sovereign debt is likely to remain a major dampening force to the upside to prices over the rest of the quarter.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Friday that U.S. highway travel fell for the third consecutive month in May, reflecting higher gasoline prices.
Energy traders have been closely eyeing U.S. gasoline consumption as the U.S. driving season entered its peak gasoline demand period.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery slumped 0.67% to trade at USD117.77 a barrel, up USD18.81 on its U.S. counterpart.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD98.96 a barrel during European morning trade, shedding 0.8%.
It earlier fell as much as 0.95% to trade at a daily low of USD98.75 a barrel.
With time running out, Democrats and Republicans from the U.S. Congress split into two camps and held talks among themselves over the weekend.
House Speaker John Boehner told Republican lawmakers on a conference call Sunday evening that no "grand deal" on raising the debt ceiling was possible with President Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Republican "intransigence" was "pushing us to the brink of a default on the full faith and credit of the United States."
Any debt limit increase must pass both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-run Senate and be signed by President Obama.
The deadlock prompted White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley to warn that there would be a "few stressful days" ahead for financial markets, as the deadline to raise the USD14.3 trillion debt ceiling was only nine days away.
Barclays said in a report earlier that, “The U.S. remains a source of constant concern, and overall sovereign debt is likely to remain a major dampening force to the upside to prices over the rest of the quarter.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Friday that U.S. highway travel fell for the third consecutive month in May, reflecting higher gasoline prices.
Energy traders have been closely eyeing U.S. gasoline consumption as the U.S. driving season entered its peak gasoline demand period.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery slumped 0.67% to trade at USD117.77 a barrel, up USD18.81 on its U.S. counterpart.