Crude dips on Libya supply prospects, offsets U.S. housing data

Investing.com - Investing.com - Crude futures fell on Monday amid anticipation that oil shipments will resume from Libyan ports once closed by rebels, offsetting solid U.S. housing data. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in June traded at $100.41 a barrel during U.S. trading, down 0.19%. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of $100.39 a barrel and a high of $101.52 a barrel. The June contract settled down 1.31% at $100.60 a barrel on Friday. Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $99.95 a barrel, the low from April 7, and resistance at $102.35 a barrel, Thursday's high. Libyan government officials and rebels reached an agreement to re-open oil ports earlier this month, and expectations for crude to begin flowing sent prices falling on Monday, as investors braced for increased global supply, offsetting bullish U.S. data. The National Association of Realtors reported earlier that pending home sales jumped 3.4% in March, far surpassing expectations for a 1% gain. Pending home sales for February were revised to a 0.5% drop from a previously reported decline of 0.8%, though March's figure marked the first increase in nine month, a sign the U.S. economy is gaining steam and will demand more fuel and energy going forward. Elsewhere, the U.S. slapped fresh sanctions on Russia earlier, which supported the commodity briefly. The third round of sanctions out of Washington targeted seven individuals and 17 companies, which support oil by stoking concerns the crisis could affect Russian exports, though Libya supply expectations kept prices in negative territory. Russia is the world's second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for June delivery were down 1.22%, trading at US$108.25 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at US$7.84 a barrel.