Crude oil November contracts continued to slide on Wednesday. Brent crude settled at $72.82 per barrel at LSE this morning, down 1.26%. Futures for American WTI are traded at $69.31 per barrel (down 1.46%).
Oil prices fell early on Tuesday with Brent breaking below the $75 threshold for the first time this year as concerns about global oil demand continued to trump Libya's production decline.
On Tuesday, Brent Crude had slumped by 3.47% at $74.79. The U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, was down by 2.98% on the day to trade at $71.30.
The latest hint from OPEC+ sources that the group will start gradual phase out of cuts in October has sent oil prices down since the end of the last week.
As early as Monday, amid weaker Labor Day trading in New York, prices also reflect the latest Chinese economic data, which showed that manufacturing activity continues to decline. This weekend, the data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's official purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector decline for the 4th month a row and reached the lowest point mark over the past 6 months.
Another weak manufacturing data from China, as well as an unprecedented increase in investments in renewable energy, which will reach $1 trillion this year, had a negative impact on the prospects for oil demand in the country, the world's largest importer of crude oil.
It is remarkable that the main market trends are bypassing Azeri Light whose futures continued to grow to $86.03 bbl (+1.01%), which most likely indicates the persistent shortage of these oil grades on the market.
