Investing.com - Crude oil futures edged higher on Monday, as investors cheered an upbeat report on China’s manufacturing sector, while looking ahead to data on U.S. manufacturing activity due later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude oil for delivery in July eased up 0.4%, or 41 cents, to trade at $103.13 a barrel during European morning hours.
Nymex oil held in a range between $102.84 and $103.34 a barrel. U.S. oil futures fell to $102.40 on Friday, the lowest since May 20, before settling at $102.71, down 0.84%, or 87 cents.
New York-traded oil futures were likely to find support at $102.40 a barrel, the low from May 30 and resistance at $103.56 a barrel, the high from May 30.
Data released over the weekend showed that China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to a five-month high of 50.8 in May, above expectations for 50.6 and up from 50.4 in April.
Investors now looked ahead to the Institute of Supply Management’s report on U.S. manufacturing activity for May later in the day.
The U.S. and China are the world’s two biggest energy consumers and manufacturing numbers are used as indicators for future demand growth.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for July delivery advanced 0.25%, or 27 cents, to trade at $109.68 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at $6.55 a barrel.