WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices retreated after moving higher earlier on Monday, as traders weighed energy demand prospects and supply situation amid OPEC-led supply cuts and U.S. sanctions against Venezuela's oil exports.
Some profit taking after oil's sharp 2.7% rise in the previous session contributed to the commodity's weakness today.
Another factor that caused oil's fall today was the data from the Commerce Department that showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods unexpectedly decreased in the month of November.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended down $0.70, or 1.3%, at $54.56 a barrel.
On Friday, oil futures ended at $55.26 a barrel, gaining $1.47, or 2.7%.
Brent crude futures, which rose to their highest level since November 21 on Friday, were down by about $0.20, at $62.55 a barrel about an hour ago.
According to a survey report from Bloomberg, output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell by 930,000 barrels a day last month to 31.02 million.
Separately, data released Friday by oilfield-services provider Baker Hughes revealed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil fell by 15 to 847 last week, following an increase of 10 in the previous week.
Venezuela's output reportedly rose last month, but fresh U.S. sanctions on the country may limit transactions with other countries.
The Commerce Department's report said factory orders fell by 0.6% in November after jumping by 2.1% in October. The pullback surprised economists, who had expected orders to edge up by 0.2%.
The unexpected drop in factory orders came as orders for non-durable goods slumped by 1.9% in November after inching up by 0.1% in the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said durable goods orders climbed by 0.7% in November after plummeting by 4.3%. The jump was due to a 3% surge in orders for transportation equipment. A month earlier, these orders were down as much as 12.4%.
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