Investing.com — Oil prices fell Monday on concerns about slowing demand growth from major oil importer China and a potential supply boost from a group of top producers.
At 06:35 ET (1035 GMT), futures were trading 0.1% lower at $73.45 per barrel and the contract was down 0.1% at $76.81 per barrel.
Uncertainty about the Chinese economy
A private sector survey released earlier Monday showed China’s manufacturing activity returned to growth in August, offering some hope for an economic recovery in the world’s largest crude oil importer.
This rose from 49.8 the month before to 50.4 in August.
However, this has had little impact on the crude market as the country showed on Saturday that Chinese manufacturing activity fell to a six-month low in August, raising doubts about the future consumption of this key market.
Both Brent and WTI posted losses last week, contributing to two consecutive weaker months, as these demand concerns outweighed recent disruptions in Libyan oil supply and tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.
OPEC’s future plans in the spotlight
Investors are also looking ahead to planned oil production increases from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, next month.
Eight OPEC+ members will increase production by 180,000 barrels per day in October, as part of a plan to unwind their latest supply cut of 2.2 million barrels per day.
“Given ongoing concerns about demand, there was a growing part of the market … that believed the group would delay any supply increases. The group may believe that supply disruptions from Libya provide an opportunity to increase supply,” ING analysts said in a note.
While Libyan exports remain halted, the Arabian Gulf Oil Company has resumed production at up to 120,000 barrels per day to meet domestic needs, engineers said on Sunday after the standoff between the factions closed most of the country’s oil fields.
