Oil prices slide on worries over China economy and higher crude output
Oil prices fell by more than $1 on Monday on worries over China’s economy after a survey showed growth in factory activity slipped sharply in the world’s second-largest oil consumer, with concerns compounded by a rise in oil output from OPEC producers.
Brent crude oil futures skidded $1.12, or 1.5%, to $74.29 a barrel by 0156 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 97 cents, or 1.3%, to $72.98 a barrel after slipping to a session low of $72.87.
“China’s been leading economic recovery in Asia and if the pullback deepens, concerns will grow that the global outlook will see a significant decline,” said Edward Moya, senior analyst at OANDA.
“The crude demand outlook is on shaky ground and that probably will not improve until global vaccinations improve.”
China’s factory activity growth slipped sharply in July as demand contracted for the first time in more than a year, in part on high product prices, a business survey showed on Monday, underscoring challenges facing the world’s manufacturing hub.
The weaker results in the private survey, mostly covering export-oriented and small manufacturers, broadly aligned with those in an official survey released on Saturday that showed activity growing at the slowest pace in 17 months.
