Oil prices mixed slips after manufacturing

Oil prices closed mixed Monday after disappointing manufacturing data in the United States and China and a US pipeline closure that stoked fears of a further buildup of supplies. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in May slipped 16 cents to settle at $97.07 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for May rose 33 cents to finish at $110.02 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange. The benchmark New York WTI futures contract had dived more than $1.30 a barrel in early trade to $95.92, but ended the session with just a small loss. Bill Baruch of iiTrader.com said the weakening dollar had "pretty well-supported commodities overall." The dollar, hit by weaker-than-expected figures on US manufacturing activity in March, lost ground against many other major currencies. A weaker US unit tends to make dollar-priced oil more attractive to buyers armed with stronger currencies. The Institute for Supply Management said its US manufacturing index fell to 51.3 in March from 54.2 in February, reflecting growth for the fourth straight month but at a slower pace. China earlier in the day said manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest rate in almost a year, bringing its purchasing managers' index to 50.9 in March, up from 50.1 in February. "The number failed to inspire petroleum buying but it was a slight improvement over February," said Phil Flynn of The PRICE Futures Group. Meanwhile, the closure of ExxonMobil's Pegasus pipeline in Arkansas following a rupture Friday sparked fears that crude oil supply will back up in the US Midwest, said Tim Evans of Citi Futures. The back up could exacerbate the glut at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery point for WTI crude oil futures in New York, he said.