By MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures moved lower Monday, as investors looked past the recent turmoil in Egypt and weighed what political fallout there would be, if any, for the rest of the Arab world.
Traders thoughts also drifted closer to home, searching for signs of what to expect from vacation-minded drivers this summer at a time when the U.S. economy appears on the mend.
“The market is confused as to what to do,” said Joe Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade. “There’s no clear direction where this (Egyptian) government is headed now that it’s military rule. We’re going to wait for reports and we’ll see what shakes out as we head for the summer driving season.”
Kinahan said traders will keep a close watch on updated U.S. inventory figures due out in the middle of the week.
In recent action, crude futures fell 38 cents to $85.22 a barrel.
On Friday, crude for March delivery (CLH11 85.44, -0.14, -0.16%) dropped 47 cents to close at $86.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
