SINGAPORE: Crude-oil futures had a positive outlook in Asian trade Monday despite the fact that traders and investors remain unsure of whether prices can hold or not.
A Singapore-based oil trader said, “Buyers will step in only when they think prices have hit bottom. They do not want to catch a knife when it is falling.” On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November CLX4, +0.29 percent traded at $83.18 a barrel, up $0.43 in the Globex electronic session. December Brent crude LCOZ4, -0.12% on London’s ICE Futures exchange increased $0.08 to $86.24 a barrel. The U.S. oil benchmark lost 3.58 percent last week and has been down for three consecutive weeks, while Brent crude in London has fallen for four weeks in a row and lost 4.88% last week.