SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices fell 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.
Brent crude oil futures dropped by 95 cents to $74.46 a barrel at 0640 while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid by 87 cents to $73.08 per barrel.
“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, according to Reuters.
“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, Reuters reported.
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.
