Investing.com - Crude oil futures fell in Asian trading on Monday on concerns a noted improvement in U.S. unemployment data didn't depict an economy experiencing any major uptick in growth.
Investors were keeping a close eye on presidential elections in Venezuela, where a tight race was taking place between President Hugo Chavez and his challenger, Henrique Capriles.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at USD89.57 a barrel on Monday, down 0.34%, off from a session high of USD89.69 and up from an earlier session low of USD89.54.
The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8% percent in September from 8.1% in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Employers added a net 114,000 jobs in September, while households reported that total employment rose by 873,000 in September following three months of little change.
The number of unemployed Americans stood at 12.1 million in September, the fewest since January 2009.
However, the improvement to the headline rate came from an increase in demand for part-time workers, likely for campaign work ahead of November's presidential elections, which kept oil down.
Finance ministers are due to meet in Brussels later this week and investors stayed away from the commodity to await policy announcements on ways to end the debt crisis.
Meanwhile in oil-rich Venezuela, presidential elections had ended at the time of writing, though electoral officials had yet to announce a winner, keeping markets on edge.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery were down 0.35% and trading at USD111.50 a barrel, up USD21.93 from its U.S. counterpart.
Investors were keeping a close eye on presidential elections in Venezuela, where a tight race was taking place between President Hugo Chavez and his challenger, Henrique Capriles.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at USD89.57 a barrel on Monday, down 0.34%, off from a session high of USD89.69 and up from an earlier session low of USD89.54.
The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8% percent in September from 8.1% in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Employers added a net 114,000 jobs in September, while households reported that total employment rose by 873,000 in September following three months of little change.
The number of unemployed Americans stood at 12.1 million in September, the fewest since January 2009.
However, the improvement to the headline rate came from an increase in demand for part-time workers, likely for campaign work ahead of November's presidential elections, which kept oil down.
Finance ministers are due to meet in Brussels later this week and investors stayed away from the commodity to await policy announcements on ways to end the debt crisis.
Meanwhile in oil-rich Venezuela, presidential elections had ended at the time of writing, though electoral officials had yet to announce a winner, keeping markets on edge.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery were down 0.35% and trading at USD111.50 a barrel, up USD21.93 from its U.S. counterpart.