Oil slips on dollar's strength from US jobs data
Oil prices nudged lower for a second straight session on Monday, weighed down by a firmer dollar as expectations of interest rate cuts were pushed out further following strong U.S. jobs data on Friday.
Brent crude futures and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 4 cents to $79.58 and $75.49 a barrel, respectively, by 0036 GMT.
On Friday, data showed the U.S. added more jobs than expected last month, leading investors to trim expectations for rate cuts and causing the dollar to rally. [FRX/]
A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities such as oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The euro also came under pressure, reflecting uncertainty in the eurozone after French President Emmanuel Macron called snap legislative elections for later in June after he was trounced in the European Union vote by Marine Le Pen's far-right party.
«Regarding Macron and elections, it does create another layer of uncertainty, coming after the upside surprise in U.S. non-farm payrolls, which saw yields scream higher,» Tony Sycamore, a Sydney-based analyst at IG said.
The markets are focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings this week, with the risks of more hawkish outcomes, Sycamore said.
«That will likely create more angst amongst some of the member states of OPEC+ as to when they can return their cuts back to the market given the negative reception this proposal received last week post the OPEC+ meeting,» he added.
Brent and WTI posted their third straight weekly loss
