Contrary Gold Futures 2 - (www.zealLLC.com)

                            Gold’s technical breakdown suffered in its recent capitulation selloff naturally unleashed a flood of bearish sentiment.  Traders are totally convinced gold’s woes are just starting, that the worst is yet to come.  This pessimistic worldview is largely universal, even among futures traders.  But their collective bets are actually a strong contrarian indicator.  Their bearishness peaks right before major rallies erupt.

Futures speculators are generally considered the most sophisticated of traders.  With futures’ inherent high leverage, margin requirements, limited lifespans, and zero-sum nature, they are far more risky and challenging to trade than stocks.  Thus the average futures trader is much better informed and better capitalized than the average stock trader.  Unforgiving futures trading soon weeds out mediocre traders.

But nevertheless the surviving futures traders are still human.  They struggle with the same dangerous emotions of greed and fear that plague stock traders.  As a herd, futures traders grow too euphoric and greedy after a price has surged too far too fast.  So they flood into longs near highs.  And they get too despondent and fearful after a price has plunged too far too fast.  So they pile into shorts near lows.

And the latter has certainly happened recently thanks to gold’s capitulation.  As an unfortunate chain of news and sentiment fed on itself as analyzed in depth in our latest monthly newsletter, futures traders grewexceptionally bearish.  So they made big bets that gold’s price would keep on falling, which in the futures world means taking the short side of contracts.  And these shorts reached incredible extremes.

US futures trading is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an arm of the US government.  While the CFTC can be a real pain sometimes like all regulators, one good thing it does is publish a weekly report called the Commitments of Traders.  Released late Friday afternoons, it shows what positions several classes of futures traders happened to be holding as of the preceding Tuesday.

Futures are a zero-sum game, every contract has one trader betting a price will move one way against an opposing trader betting that price will move the other way.  So every dollar won in futures is a direct dollar loss from the counterparty on the other side of the contract.  Thus the total number of longs and shorts in any commodity, including gold, are always perfectly equal.  Shorts can’t exist without offsetting longs.

While total gold shorts always equal longs, the CFTC divides futures traders into three different classes.  These are commercial traders, non-commercial traders, and nonreportable traders.  These are generally translated as hedgers directly using a physical underlying commodity for business purposes, large speculators, and small speculators.  The aggregate positions held by each class can vary considerably.

The way it nearly always works in the gold world is commercial hedgers mostly take the short side of gold contracts.  They are dominated by miners locking in future selling prices.  And then speculators, both large and small, take the offsetting long side of these trades.  When the total longs and total shorts for each class are added up, the result is a net-long or net-short position.  This effectively reveals sentiment.

The more net-long the speculators are, the more bullish they are on gold.  They won’t make these risky leveraged bets on this metal unless they are convinced it is likely to continue surging.  This tends to happen near major toppings after big uplegs.  The less net-long speculators are, the more bearish they are on gold.  They won’t bet heavily on gold upside after this metal has long languished in corrections.

This first chart looks at these aggregate class positions in gold futures over time.  The always net-short commercial hedgers’ positions are shown in yellow.  Without them, gold futures trading wouldn’t exist.  The offsetting net-long large and small speculators are rendered in orange and red.  When the gold price is overlaid on these collective positions, it becomes readily apparent they are a strong contrarian indicator.

Even though commercials are always net-short and speculators always net-long during a secular bull, the degree of these bets is very revealing.  As speculators get exceptionally bullish or bearish on gold, their net-long exposure rises and falls accordingly.  And amazingly given futures’ traders well-deserved reputation as sophisticated players, they nearly always make the wrong bets near gold-price extremes!

Oil pulls back in Asia after decent U.S. showing - ( investing.com)

Oil futures declined modestly during Friday’s Asian session after posting a decent gain during Thursday trade in the U.S. as traders await the release of the February non-farm payroll report due out from the U.S. Labor Department later today.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for April delivery fell 0.13% to USD91.44 in Asian trading Friday after gaining 0.75% to settle at USD91.11 a barrel on Thursday in the U.S.

Risk appetite buoyed by rising U.S. equities and a strong data point helped lift crude Thursday before it succumbed to some profit taking in Asian trade Friday.

In U.S. economic news, first time claims for unemployment benefits fell to 340,000 last week from 347,000 in the previous week. Economists expected last week’s reading to rise to 355,000. The reading is close to a five-year low. The less volatile four-week moving average also fell by 7,000 last week to 348,750.

Even with the modest decline seen thus far in the Asian session, West Texas Intermediate futures are poised for their best weekly performance in three weeks.
Elsewhere, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it will increase global oil shipments by 420,000 barrels a day to 23.83 million per day for the four-week stretch ending on March 23. Those figures exclude Angola and Ecuador. Saudi Arabia, the cartel’s biggest producer, is believed to be making up the bulk of the increased shipments.

Oil traders will now focus on the February NFP number due out later today. Economists expect the U.S., the world’s largest economy to show the addition of 160,000 new jobs last month. Analysts believe the February number will be somewhat hindered by fears of government spending cuts.

The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer. Elsewhere, Brent futures for April delivery fell 0.08% to USD110.86 per barrel.

Oil Falls to 2013 Low on China, Europe Manufacturing

West Texas Intermediate oil slipped to the lowest level this year as manufacturing expanded less than forecast in China and contracted in Europe, bolstering concern that fuel demand will decline.

Futures fell 1.5 percent after data showed China’s manufacturing growth slowed for a second month while factory output declined in the euro area and the U.K. The factory data helped theU.S. dollar strengthen against the British pound and the euro. A stronger dollar curbs the appeal of raw materials to investors.

“Oil is down because of the disappointing manufacturing index data overnight, especially the Chinese number, which shows the country had the smallest of expansions,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy. “U.K. manufacturing has plunged into contraction, which is going to hurt demand.”

Crude oil for April delivery fell $1.37 to $90.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since Dec. 24. Prices dropped 2.6 percent this week. The volume of all futures traded was down 1.5 percent from the 100-day average at 3:10 p.m.

Gold Falls on Signs of Economic Recovery: Commodities at Close

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 raw materials fell 0.3 percent to settle at 648.21 at 4 p.m. New York time, led by metals.

The UBS Bloomberg CMCI gauge of 26 prices slid 0.2 percent to 1,547.62.

PRECIOUS METALS

Gold fell, capping the longest run of monthly declines in 16 years, as signs of economic optimism curbed demand for the metal as a haven.

Jobless claims in the U.S. dropped in the week that ended Feb. 23, the government said today. German unemployment unexpectedly fell in February amid signs that Europe’s biggest economy is recovering, and Japan’s industrial production in January rose for the second straight month.

On the Comex in New York, gold futures for April delivery dropped 1.1 percent to $1,578.10 an ounce. This month, the metal tumbled 5 percent, the fifth straight decline and the longest slump January 1997.

India introduces 4% excise duty on Silver produced from Zinc

India introduced a 4 percent excise duty on silver manufactured from smelting zinc or lead.

India's Finance minister P. Chidambaram however didn't raise import duty non gold in his budget presentation in the country’s parliament early Thursday.

Chidambaram however introduced a 0.01 percent Commodities Transactions Tax (CTT) for commodity futures in a limited way from next fiscal year.He exempted agri commodities from the CTT.

The Finance Minister also introduced a string of reforms,opening India to wider foreign investment and cutting deficit-ballooning spending and subsidies to avert a damaging credit rating downgrade and boost corporate spending.

India's share market regulator SEBI will simplify procedures for entry of foreign portfolio investors to invest in India.

All public sector banks to have ATM's by the end of this year. A new women's bank to be set up for lending to women's entrepreuners, and allots rs 1000 crores in the budget. The bank is also to have a majority of women employees

India Raises Spending, Taxes the Rich

                          India's finance minister Thursday tried to balance political compulsions with repeated promises of financial discipline, saying he will raise spending but that he will stick to a fiscal roadmap and increase taxes for the rich.

The 16.6 trillion rupee ($307 billion) budget for the fiscal year starting April 1 aims to increase spending by 16%, underscoring the pressure on the government to continue to spend on development plans in the education, health and other social sectors, with an eye on improving its prospects at state elections this year and federal polls in 2014.

P. Chidambaram, while presenting the federal budget in parliament, projected that the country's fiscal deficit will be 4.8% of gross domestic product in the next fiscal year starting April 1, narrower than this year's 5.2% deficit, which betters its own previous projection of 5.3%.

The government hopes to reduce the deficit to 3% by March 2017.

New Delhi is banking on revenue from higher taxes on the rich and corporates and from stake sales in state-run companies and the auction of

Crude Oil and Natural Gas Stronger As US Dollar Eases

Crude oil futures opened marginally higher tracking sharp gains in the Asia equities with investors keying into comments from the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve emphasizing an ongoing commitment to monetary stimulus. Asia stocks climbed Thursday, the last day of the month with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index trading up 0.9%, while the Shanghai Composite Index up 0.4%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 2%, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.1%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index moved up 0.7%.

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WTI crude oil tumbled Wednesday after stockpiles of crude rose in top consumer the United States, pressuring an already well supplied market. Inventories of crude oil rose by 1.13 million barrels in the week to Feb. 22, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a weekly report. Distillate stocks, including heating oil and diesel, rose 557,000 barrels. Meanwhile, prices drew support from indications the U.S. economy is improving.

The National Association of Realtors said earlier that its pending home sales index rose by 4.5% in January, beating expectations for a 1.5% gain. Year-on-year, pending home sales rose at annualized rate of 10.4% last month, above expectations for an 8.2% increase. Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that total

Fed Director Bernanke Sends Gold Skywards

                            Gold’s biggest rally in months edged into day three to trade above the 1615.00 level after being stuck under the resistance level of 1600, when the U.S. Federal Reserve chief defended the stimulus program that has stoked gold buying on inflation worries. Mr. Bernanke’s testimony seemed to indicate that the FOMC would continue its ongoing asset purchase programs, which helped bump gold skywards. Bernanke said that the current programs were not causing inflation or an asset bubble.

                                                         www.orangecommodities.com

This morning gold is giving back a few dollars after the US dollar rebounded late in trading on yesterday on positive eco data and as traders took advantage to the rally to sell and book profits as the month comes to a close. Gold rose 1.3 percent on yesterday, its biggest one-day gain in three months, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s defense of U.S. bond-buying stimulus boosted bullion’s inflation-hedge appeal. The metal broke above $1,600 an ounce, extending its rally to a fourth straight day, after Bernanke said Fed policymakers are cognizant of potential risks from its loose monetary policy, but the risks did not seem material now. In his testimony on the central bank’s semiannual report on monetary policy,

Rio’s Mongolia Copper Dream Awakens 20-Year-Old Nightmare

Rio Tinto Group (RIO)’s Mongolia copper and gold mine looks a dream location sitting next toChina, the biggest market. Yet, Mongolia’s bid for more control of the project draws comparison with a Rio mine that went badly wrong.

Mongolia’s government is ratcheting up criticism of Rio’s management of the $6.6 billion project, the landlocked country’s single biggest investment. Lawmakers have argued for a bigger share of profit, while President Tsakhia Elbegdorj wants more management control. He faces elections in June with a fifth of the nation’s 3 million people in poverty despite world-beating economic growth of 17.3 percent in 2011.

                                                          www.orangecommodities.com

“In Bougainville the community felt, rightly or wrongly, they weren’t compensated adequately for the various impacts of mining they were having to absorb,” said Jeffrey Neilson, a senior lecturer in economic geography at the University of Sydney. Governments in emerging economies “have to be seen to be taking a strong stance and making sure that the benefits of their resource wealth are being shared.”Rio has refused government overtures to rewrite the agreement on the mine known as Oyu Tolgoi, raising tensions and comparisons with another Rio copper mine more than two decades ago. That project known as Panguna on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea was shut by local protests and is still the subject of a U.S. court case.

Mining companies also need to consider wealth distribution in countries where they invest as a matter of course, said Michael Bush, who now heads credit research at National AustraliaBank Ltd. and formerly worked as a geologist at Triad Minerals Inc.

‘Fingers Burned’

At Panguna, which was closed in 1989 after protests turned violent, the company “got its fingers burned more than many” of its peers, Bush said.

The unrest at Panguna, led by Francis Ona a former Bougainville mine worker, revitalized an independence movement on the island. That prompted the Papua New Guinea government to declare a state of emergency and send in troops in a conflict in which thousands died.

Bougainville landowners later filed a U.S. lawsuit alleging Rio conspired with the PNG government in acts of genocide, human rights abuses and environmental damage. Rio lost anappeal to have the lawsuit thrown out on Oct. 25, 2011. In November the same year, Rio sought to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. No decision has been made, according to the court’s website.

‘Serious Risks’

The company has argued that as the case has no connection whatsoever to the

Gold Headed for Longest Slump in Over a Year

Gold Hammered to 7.5-Mo. Low on Technical Selling, Bearish FOMC Minutes

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Gold prices ended the U.S. day session sharply lower Wednesday, and then extended those losses in the afternoon following a bearish FOMC minutes report. Prices hit a fresh
7.5-month low as the precious yellow metals bulls are presently reeling. April gold last traded down $43.50 at $1,560.90 an ounce. Spot gold was last quoted down $44.90 at $1,560.50.  March Comex silver last traded down $1.017 at $28.405 an ounce.

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee in early January said U.S. economic conditions are improving to the point that its massive asset purchasing program (quantitative easing) may have to be changed. The FOMC will further address the issue at its next meeting in March. Worries the FOMC minutes would indeed be bearish added to the technical selling pressure Wednesday morning. These minutes in the past few months have been market-movers, just like Wednesday’s. The U.S. Treasury markets, with their recent rising bond yields, are also hinting that the Fed’s very accommodative monetary policy of the past few years will start to wind down in the not-too-distant future. That’s yet another underlying bearish factor for the raw commodity sector, including gold and silver.

Wednesday’s price action on the daily chart for April Comex gold futures saw the 50-day moving average cross below the 200-day moving average, to produce what is called a “death cross.” This term has become somewhat popular in recent years, partly because it sounds so ominous. However, the technical significance of this particular moving average crossover signal is not major. In fact, a Dow Jones report Wednesday said that Schaeffer’s Investment Research analyst Ryan Detrick did a historical analysis of the death cross on gold, and he found that on average gold prices actually rebounded somewhat in the weeks and months following the death cross.

Another major bearish factor for the gold and silver markets in recent weeks has been rallying stock markets worldwide, which shows investor risk appetite is on the upswing—at the expense of demand for safe-haven assets like gold and to a lesser degree silver. The recent strength of the U.S. dollar index is also an underlying bearish factor for the precious metals markets. Recent developments coming out of the European Union paint a picture of improving financial and economic conditions, to suggest the EU has turned the corner toward recovery from its sovereign debt crisis. That’s also a bearish underlying factor for the safe-haven gold market.

METALS OUTLOOK: Sentiment In Gold Changes; Watch Asian Activity

The short-term sentiment in gold changed this week, particularly as the market took out an important technical-chart level, but whether the metal extends its losses might depend on what Asian buyers do next week when they return from their Lunar New Year festival.

Prices were lower on the day and the week. Most-active April gold on the Comex division of the Nymex settled at $1,609.50, down 3.4% on the week. March silver settled at $29.869, down 5% on the week.  
In the U.S., markets are closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday. Trade resumes Tuesday.

In the Kitco News Gold Survey, out of 33 participants, 25 responded this week. Of those 25 participants, nine see prices up, while 12 see prices down, and four see prices moving sideways or are neutral. Market participants include bullion dealers, investment banks, futures traders, money managers and technical-chart analysts.

Market participants said attitudes in gold for now have changed, pointing to an increase in open interest in Comex futures market as prices fall. Open interest is a

Gold slides on euro zone recession fears

Gold futures extended losses from Thursday’s U.S. session in the early part of Asian trading today as traders digested some slack economic data out of Europe. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery fell 0.24% to USD1,631.65 per troy ounce in Asian trading Friday. That decline comes after gold settled down 0.54% at USD1,636.15 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Thursday.

Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,626.05 a troy ounce, the low from Jan. 4, and resistance at USD1,653.75, Wednesday's high. On Thursday, a reported showed the euro zone’s fourth-quarter GDP contracted by 0.6%, well below expectations for a 0.4% quarterly decline and far surpassing the previous 0.1% contraction. It was the worst rate of contraction since 2009 and the third straight quarter of negative growth. Typically, economists consider an economy to be in recession with two consecutive negative GDP readings.

Gold edges up in Asia despite a strong dollar

Gold edged up in Asian trade Monday despite a relatively strong dollar. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1667.15 an ounce at 12.00 noon Singapore time while US gold was seen at $1667.94 an ounce on the comex division of nymex.

Strength in the dollar and a rise in U.S. stocks following better-than-expected trade data drew investors away from the precious metal at the end of last week . Analysts said the precious yellow metal is likely to remain highly volatile during the day as most investors stayed away from trade ahead of Chines New Year holidays. Meanwhile, platinum and palladium hovered below their strongest levels in 17 months after

Oil rises following U.S. blizzard

Oil futures rose modestly to start the Asian trading week after one of the worst blizzards in decades struck the U.S. East Coast, prompting speculation that heating oil and natural gas prices are poised to jump in the near-term. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for March delivery added 0.06% to USD95.78 per barrel in Asian trading Monday. Last week, New York-traded crude dipped 1.85% for its first decline in nine weeks.

Traders seemed to gloss over comments from Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani who said the U.S. is on pace to become energy independent as soon as 2018. Due to soaring production at various shale formations such as the Bakken and Eagle Ford, U.S. oil output has jumped in recent years to the point that the world’s largest oil consumer has become a next exporter of the commodity. Some estimates have said the U.S. will be energy by 2020 while others have put the date further out at 2030, implying Ambani’s comments are on the ambitious side. The U.S. December trade deficit fell to its lowest level in three years due to increased oil and gas exports. On a related note, British media reports said this weekend that the U.K. perhaps has enough shale gas reserves to fuel the kingdom for 1,500 years. Elsewhere, the African nation of Cameroon said this weekend that it sees oil production climbing 9% this year to an estimated 90,000 barrels per day. Last week, Norway’s state-controlled oil producer Statoil said it plans to spend USD20 billion per year in a bid to boost production by 25% per year by 2020. The company spend just USD13.7 billion on exploration and production projects three years ago compared with an estimated 2013 capital budget of USD19 billion. Elsewhere, Brent futures for April deliver fell 0.01% to USD117.80 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

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Courtesy: INVESTING.COM

Copper futures edge higher on global recovery hopes; U.S. data eyed

Copper futures edged higher to hit a two-day high on Tuesday, as mounting optimism over the health of the global economy continued to support appetite for growth-linked assets.

Copper is sensitive to the economic outlook because of its widespread uses in construction and manufacturing.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for March delivery traded at USD3.673 a pound during European morning trade, up 0.3% on the day.

New York-traded copper prices rose by as much as 0.75% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD3.691 a pound.

Copper prices rose Monday after data showed that U.S. durable goods orders rose more-than-expected in December, jumping 4.6% compared to expectations for a 1.8% rise.

Market participants now looked ahead to Wednesday’s preliminary data on U.S. fourth quarter economic growth, as well as Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, as markets attempt to gauge the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.

The Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting on Wednesday will also be in focus, as markets search for clues over the future of the central bank’s ultra-loose monetary policy.

Also, China will release its official manufacturing data for January at the end of the week, providing investors with another chance to see whether the recovery in the world’s second largest economy remains on track.

China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.

Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for April delivery rose 0.5% to trade at USD1,662.85 a troy ounce, while silver for March delivery climbed 0.95% to trade at USD31.07 a troy ounce.

Source : INVESTING.COM

Natural gas prices plunge as forecasts finally agree on warming trend

Natural gas futures plummeted on Monday after weather services began forecasting a warming trend to settle in over the central and eastern swathes of the U.S.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in March traded at USD3.314 per million British thermal units, down 4.29%.

The commodity hit a session low of USD3.305 and a high of USD3.414.

Colder temperatures gripping the central and

Twenty Reasons to Buy Silver for the Long-Term!

I believe that silver could go to $60 per ounce from today’s price of just $30 by the end of 2014. That would be double from today’s current prices in just a little over two years! I also believe silver will be the best single investment of this decade. The following article is focused on why I think that you should seriously consider having a significant percentage of your investment portfolio in silver.

 

Many gold investors deride silver as the "poor man's gold" because of its low relative price to gold. They also don't like the fact that it because it is used primarily as an industrial metal it can be negatively affected by a cyclical downturn in the economy. This is opposite of gold which is viewed almost entirely as a precious metal. Many years ago, the silver market was so oversupplied because there were huge artificial inventories of silver. This was because the US took currency (coins) out of circulation due to its physical silver content. Because of this artificial situation, huge surpluses hung over the market until these excess inventories were depleted. This led to silver prices crashing as low as $2 and then traded around $5 for years. Because silver had so decoupled from the price of gold during this period, it began to be thought of as just another industrial metal and not a precious metal.

 

There are still skeptics who think of silver as just another industrial metal. However after a 600% rise in price from $5 to $30 since 2003, it has begun again to be viewed as a precious metal. I think that silver has only completed about fifty percent of that process. As this transformation continues there will be additional significant moves higher in price. That will attract more investors to silver again until it once again retains its true status as a precious metal.

 

1) The amount of silver consumed annually and bought for investment exceeds currently exceeds total annual mining output and has for years. That gap has been filled by sellers willing to sell from existing inventories and as prices rise. As time passes this will naturally push prices significantly higher until this fundamental imbalance reaches a true equilibrium price where supply is closer to demand.

 

2) Both industrial and investment demand for silver is growing in excess of the annual increase in mining production growth. The available inventory is low and will get even tighter over time. These two factors will lead to a continued tighter supply-demand situation going forward. 

 

3) The lower price of silver at $32 appeals more broadly to small investors relative to the more expensive gold at $1705, especially if gold prices continue to rise.

 

4) Most silver is not found in mining sites in any significant concentrated form. It is usually chemically bound to other metals; much of it is actually the byproduct of mining for lead, copper, etc. In the last few decades this made it less attractive from a profitability standpoint to invest in pure silver mine. Now prices have finally recovered enough to make new projects feasible again. So there is new investment in the sector but it is a lengthy multi-year process to bring on significant new production. .

 

5) The last time silver was found in huge concentrations or veins that dramatically affected the amount available and therefore significantly lowered prices was in the Comstock Lode in Nevada in the late 1800's. The Comstock Lode produced tons of ore that was very pure with concentrations of 25-50% silver. Silver mines today have much lower concentrations, usually always less than two ounces per ton of refined ore.

 

6) Silver is the most conductive metal on earth. Gold is also conductive but is prohibitively

Copper futures drop as profit taking, U.S. debt concerns weigh

               Copper futures declined during European morning hours on Monday, as focus remained squarely on the U.S. economic outlook and how U.S. lawmakers will deal with the upcoming debt ceiling debate.

Some profit taking also contributed to losses, after New York-traded copper prices rallied to the highest level since mid-October last week.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for March delivery traded at USD3.666 a pound during European morning trade, down 0.75% on the day.

New York-traded copper prices fell by as much as 1% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD3.657 a pound. Futures rose to USD3.758 on January 3, the strongest level since October 18.

Copper futures rallied last week after U.S. lawmakers passed a last-minute bill to avoid the fiscal cliff, a series of looming tax increases and spending cuts that could have pushed the U.S. economy back into a recession.

Focus was expected to remain on the U.S. economy, as investors remained jittery over the

Crude oil futures lower with U.S. economy in focus

                         Crude oil futures were lower during European morning trade on Monday, as focus remained on the U.S. economic outlook and how U.S. lawmakers will deal with the upcoming debt ceiling debate.

Some profit taking also contributed to losses, after New York-traded oil prices rallied to the highest level since mid-September last week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at USD92.59 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.5% on the day.

New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 0.6% earlier in the session to trade at a daily low of USD92.56 a barrel. Oil futures touched USD93.82 a barrel on January 2, the strongest level since September 19.

New York-traded oil futures climbed 2.5% last week, the fourth consecutive weekly gain and the biggest advance in nearly three months.

Oil prices kicked off 2013 with sharp gains, after U.S. lawmakers passed a last-minute bill to avoid the