Crude prices drop as Iraq worries fade

Crude prices fell Monday as ongoing violence in Iraq didn't disrupt crude supplies.
Traders kept watch on Iraq. Violence in Iraq so far has largely been in the north of the country. Iraq exports about 2.5 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Despite the escalating violence, tensions in the market are fading on signs that crude production from the southern Iraq has not been disrupted. As the second-largest producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Iraq produces more than three-quarters of the country's oil output in the south.
On the U.S. economic front, U.S. pending home sales index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, jumped 6.1 percent to 103.9 in May from 97.9 in April, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. The increase for May, the largest month-over-month gain since April 2010, also easily beat analyst estimates.
The major focus of the week will be the U.S. nonfarm payroll report for June scheduled for release Thursday by the Labor Department. Economists expected the U.S. unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 6.3 percent in June with 211,000 jobs added.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery moved down 37 cents to settle at 105.37 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery lost 94 cents to close at 112.36 dollars a barrel.