Oil down in Asia as U.S. jobs data disappoints

Investing.com – Oil futures traded lower in Asia Monday as traders in the region appeared unimpressed by last Friday’s U.S. jobs report that missed estimates.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for September delivery fell 0.62% to USD106.28 per barrel in Asian trading Monday.

In U.S. economic news published last Friday, the Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 162,000 new jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 7.4%, a four-year low.

The Commerce Department said U.S. consumer spending rose 0.5% last month following a 0.2% increase in June. Economists expected consumer spending to rise 0.5%.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis said personal incomes rose 0.3% in July. Economists expected a 0.4% increase.

In the week ahead, the U.S. is to publish data on service sector activity as well as a report on the trade balance to further gauge the strength of the U.S. economy.

The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.

Data from the U.S. Commission Futures Commission indicate traders have reduced their long bets on an array of commodities, including gold and oil.

Elsewhere, data from the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative showed the OPEC member lost nearly USD11 billion in oil revenue from 2009-2011 due to oil theft and destruction of oil assets in the country.

Nigeria, which vies with fellow OPEC member Angola to be Africa’s top oil producer, relies on oil revenue to support 80% of the government’s budget.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures for September delivery fell 0.36% to USD108.54 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

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