Oil price steadies amid Iraq worries

U.S. oil price remained flat Monday as traders worried a potential escalation of violence in Iraq.

Iraqi security forces on Saturday continued fierce clashes with militant groups, and the troops managed to retake control of three towns in Salahudin province, security and medical sources said.

The geopolitical risks in Iraq continued to boost the crude market, especially the Brent oil.

On the U.S. economic front, manufacturing activity in the New York Region in June improved significantly for a second consecutive month, with the Empire State general business conditions index registering 19.3, following a nearly-four-year high of 19.0 in May, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported. The number exceeded analyst estimates.

Moreover, U.S. industrial production rose 0.6 percent in May after declining 0.3 percent in April, said the U.S. Federal Reserve. The reading also surpassed market consensus.

In addition, U.S. builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose to 49 in June, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Monday. The confidence index remained 1 point shy of the threshold for what is considered good building conditions, but it still beat market expectations.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery moved down 1 cent to settle at 106.9 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery gained 48 cents to close at 112.94 dollars a barrel.