Crude oil futures little changed near 14-month high

Crude oil futures were little changed near the highest level since May 2012 on Monday, as market players continued to monitor political turmoil in Egypt amid ongoing concerns over a disruption to supplies from the Middle East.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD103.29 a barrel during European morning trade, up 0.1% on the day.

New York-traded oil prices held in a range between USD102.98 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD103.98, the strongest level since May 3, 2012.

Violent clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohamed Morsi left more than 30 people dead over the weekend, according to various reports.

Market players were concerned that the escalating violence would lead to the closure of the Suez Canal, which transports approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil a day from northern Africa to the U.S. 

The U.S. Energy Information Administration identified the Suez Canal as one of seven “world oil transit chokepoints” and an “important transit corridor for world oil markets” in its 2012 Energy Outlook report.

Oil prices also drew support amid indications of an improving U.S. economic outlook.

The Department of Labor said on Friday that the U.S. economy added 195,000 jobs in June, more than the 165,000 increase forecast by economists. 

May's figure was revised up to 195,000 from a previously reported 175,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.6% in June.

Oil traders have been paying close attention to readings on U.S. employment levels because they offer insight into the economic health of the world's largest crude oil consumer. 

An improving economy is generally correlated with increased demand for oil and fuel products like gasoline.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery shed 0.15% to trade at USD107.56 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD4.27 a barrel.

The London-traded Brent contract rose to a session high of USD108.03 a barrel earlier in the day, the strongest level since April 3.

The gap between the contracts narrowed to the smallest level since December 2010 last week, amid an improving production outlook in the North Sea and indications of declining stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex oil futures.