Oil fluctuated

Oil fluctuated as economic reports from the U.S. and China signaled that growth may be slowing and as the euro strengthened against the dollar.

Prices traded near the lowest level in eight months as orders to U.S. factories unexpectedly fell in April and China’s non-manufacturing industries expanded at the slowest pace in more than a year in May.

U.S. factory orders dropped 0.6 percent in April after a revised 2.1 percent decrease in March, the first back-to-back declines in more than three years, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Economists projected a 0.2 percent.

China’s purchasing managers’ index for non-manufacturing industries fell to 55.2 in May from 56.1 in April, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said yesterday in Beijing. That’s the lowest reading since March 2011, when the federation started seasonally adjusting the data.

Oil for July delivery traded at a range of $81,21 - $83,73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile.

Brent futures for July settlement declined 89 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $97.54 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.