Crude Oil Futures Fizzle

Crude oil prices fell Monday on a mixture of supply-related news and bearish economic data.

West Texas crude for April delivery lost $3.42 to $102.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude dropped $2.75 to $101.02 a barrel. Reformulated gasoline slid 10 cents to $2.62 a gallon, and heating oil was off 4 cents at $3.07 a gallon. Natural gas rose 26 cents to $10.06 per million British thermal units.

Contributing to weaker crude prices were reports that an Iraqi oil pipeline that was sabotaged last week is now back in service, according to energy analysts at Barclays Capital Research. The pipeline transports roughly 500,000 barrels of oil a day.

Also affecting crude prices was the value of the U.S. dollar, which has strengthened somewhat since Friday's trading session, according to Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global. Because oil is denominated in dollars, the price of oil tends to fall when the value of the dollar rises.

Elsewhere, energy stocks were mixed in the trading session. Chevron (CVX - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) rose 0.6% to $85.01. Marathon Oil(MRO - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) fell 1.7% to $45.65. Royal Dutch Shell(RDS.A - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) advanced 1.6% to $68.82, and Exxon Mobil (XOM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) edged fractionally higher to $85.47.