LONDON (SHARECAST) - US crude oil futures fell under $70 a barrel on Monday as concern about weak demand and the stronger dollar sent prices 3% lower.
US crude for October delivery settled down $2.33 to $69.71 a barrel. Earlier it hit a low of $68.96.
The decline came despite a rally on Wall Street, after a good performance among tech stocks, and encouraging economic data. The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators rose for the fifth consecutive month. It improved 0.6% in August, a touch less than the 0.7% predicted, but July’s 0.6% rise was revised up to 0.9%.
But pressure on oil prices remained as traders worried about rising oil inventories and that current demand levels remain depressed by the economic downturn. Also hurting sentiment were comments from Asian refiner Sinopec that demand for industrial fuels remains depressed in China.
Gold for December fell $5.40 to $1,004.90 an ounce on Monday. The stronger dollar hurt the precious metal’s appeal as an alternative investment.
Gold hit a high of over $1,020 an ounce last Wednesday, helped by the weaker dollar but as the greenback recovered from one year lows, demand for gold waned.
Copper for December managed to punch through gains, rising 2.05 cents to $2.8055 a pound while December silver futures lost 18.5 cents to $16.88 an ounce.
