Brent futures fell 0.7% to $ 95.14 a barrel after falling 1.2% on Friday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil fell 0.5% to $ 87.43 a barrel after falling 1.3% on Friday.
Tight COVID-19 restrictions in China have dampened economic and trade activity, reducing demand for oil. Chinese crude oil imports fell 4.3% in the first three quarters of the year from the same period a year earlier – the first annual decline in the period since at least 2014 – as Beijing’s drastic COVID-19 restrictions hit. high fuel consumption.
An additional risk to oil demand comes from Europe, said Leon Li, an analyst at CMC Markets, as the continent “is likely to go into recession this winter”.
The eurozone is likely to enter recession, according to an S&P Global survey, as commercial activity contracted more in nearly two years in October as rising cost of living makes consumers wary and undermines demand.
European Central Bank policy makers are also backing plans to raise interest rates further, even as this pushes the bloc into recession and fuels political discontent.
Meanwhile, on Friday, some of the largest US oil producers reported that productivity and production growth in the Permian Basin, the country’s largest shale field, are slowing.
The warnings came just as U.S. oil exports rose to all-time highs last week, partly pushing WTI prices up 3.4%. The price of Brent crude oil rose 2.4% last week, recording the second consecutive weekly increase.
In a forecast to be released Monday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to maintain growth in oil demand over the next decade, despite the increased use of renewable energy and electric vehicles, two OPEC sources said.
