Investing.com – Crude oil futures pared losses on Monday, bouncing off a seven-week low as market sentiment was lifted by speculation about a possible interest rate cut by the European Central Bank, while lingering concerns over the global economy continued to weigh.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at USD78.72 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, dropping 1.4%.
It earlier fell as much as 2.95% to trade at USD77.14 a barrel, the lowest price since August 9.
Risk appetite improved amid speculation that the ECB may cut interest rates to boost the region's economy, after governing council member Ewald Nowotny said that the possibility of interest rate cuts should not be ruled out.
Also supporting sentiment, Bloomberg News reported that the ECB is likely to debate the resumption of covered-bond purchases along with further measures to inject liquidity into European lenders at its policy-setting meeting next week.
However, crude prices continued to come under pressure amid the uncertain outlook for global economic growth.
The U.S. Census Bureau said earlier that new home sales in the U.S. fell to a six-month low of 295,000 in August from 302,000 in July. Analysts had expected new home sales to fall to 293,000 in August.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s oil minister Mohammed Saleh al-Sada said over the weekend that the euro zone debt crisis and general fears about the global economy have weakened demand for crude.
Speaking at an industry event in Doha on Sunday, al-Sada said, “We are watching closely developments on supply and demand. It is evident that the emphasis is now on the financial issues in some European countries."
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery shed 0.51% to trade at USD103.31 a barrel, up USD24.59 a barrel on its U.S. counterpart.
Global financial service provider HSBC Holdings said in report earlier that top oil producer Saudi Arabia may cut production to prevent Brent prices falling below USD90 a barrel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at USD78.72 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, dropping 1.4%.
It earlier fell as much as 2.95% to trade at USD77.14 a barrel, the lowest price since August 9.
Risk appetite improved amid speculation that the ECB may cut interest rates to boost the region's economy, after governing council member Ewald Nowotny said that the possibility of interest rate cuts should not be ruled out.
Also supporting sentiment, Bloomberg News reported that the ECB is likely to debate the resumption of covered-bond purchases along with further measures to inject liquidity into European lenders at its policy-setting meeting next week.
However, crude prices continued to come under pressure amid the uncertain outlook for global economic growth.
The U.S. Census Bureau said earlier that new home sales in the U.S. fell to a six-month low of 295,000 in August from 302,000 in July. Analysts had expected new home sales to fall to 293,000 in August.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s oil minister Mohammed Saleh al-Sada said over the weekend that the euro zone debt crisis and general fears about the global economy have weakened demand for crude.
Speaking at an industry event in Doha on Sunday, al-Sada said, “We are watching closely developments on supply and demand. It is evident that the emphasis is now on the financial issues in some European countries."
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery shed 0.51% to trade at USD103.31 a barrel, up USD24.59 a barrel on its U.S. counterpart.
Global financial service provider HSBC Holdings said in report earlier that top oil producer Saudi Arabia may cut production to prevent Brent prices falling below USD90 a barrel.