Taper Worries Keep Brent Below $106

The US Federal Reserve's taper timeline remained at the forefront of investors ‘minds as positive economic data from the US suggested that the number one oil consuming nation's appetite could increase, but also pointed to a sooner-rather-than-later cutback on the Fed's stimulus spending. Brent crude oil traded at $105.46 at 5:15 GMT on Monday morning as investors struggled to determine whether positive economic data from the US would send prices up or down. Related: #PreMarket Primer: Monday, November 11: Strong US Labor Data Causes December Taper Speculation CNBC reported that data from the US Labor Department showed that 204,000 new jobs were created in October, surprising many who expected the US government shutdown to take the shine off of the nation's figures. Since the Fed has been very clear about the link between its plans to taper and an improvement in the US job market, many saw the data as reason to expect the bank to cut back on its $85 billion per month stimulus spending sooner than expected. Brent found some support from ongoing riots in Libya where the nation's oil exports have been more than halved. Protesters have shut down most of the nation's largest oil fields and were able to keep a taker from loading oil at the nation's Hariga port on Friday. However, as tension in Libya ratcheted up, the historically icy relationship between the West and Iran seemed to thaw after two days of talks resulted in optimism from both sides. Western leaders met with Iranian officials to discuss Iran's nuclear program in hopes of ending a decade long standoff that has resulted in sanctions that have kept much of Iran's oil from the markets. Although no deal was reached during this round of talks, both sides agreed that forward progress was made and expressed hope that the next round of talks would end with a conclusive agreement.