Crude futures rose more than $2 a barrel in post-settlement trading on Monday, extending gains made on a data showing a strengthening manufacturing sector, consumer spending edging up and on the dollar's weakness against the euro.
IN FOCUS
- The U.S. CFTC's moves on market regulation are a step in the right direction but it will be impossible to drain speculation completely from the oil market, OPEC's secretary general said on Monday.
- Asian imports of West African crude oil are set to dip in February from record highs in January but will still be higher than in any month last year, a survey showed on Monday.
- Indonesia's crude oil production fell in January from December due to technical problems in several wells that led to a reduction in output, an official at the country's energy watchdog said on Monday.
- Kuwait's current crude output capacity stood at 3.15 million barrels per day (bpd), a senior official from the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) told Reuters on Monday.
FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK
Crude oil is trading almost half a percent higher on NYMEX backed by strong equity markets gains world over. Outlook for crude oil is sideways to up for the day. We have two important data indicators to be released in the evening session which can highly influence crude oil prices and API crude inventory stocks. Any deviation from the expectation can drive the markets in either of the direction.
