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Oil futures edged lower Monday, extending last week’s rout, as worries remain over China’s demand outlook in the face of renewed COVID-19 lockdowns.
Price action
-
West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery
CL.1,
-0.76% CLZ22,
-0.76%
fell 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $79.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the most actively traded January contract
CL00,
-0.57% CLF23,
-0.57%
was down 8 cents, or 0.1%, at $80.03 a barrel. -
January Brent crude
BRN00,
-0.59% BRNF23,
-0.59% ,
the global benchmark, was off 19 cents, or 0.2%, at $87.43 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. -
Back on Nymex, December gasoline
RBZ22,
-0.50%
was off 0.1% at $2.417 a gallon, while December heating oil
HOZ22,
-0.08%
edged down 0.1% to $3.515 a gallon. -
December natural gas
NGZ22,
+0.49%
was off 0.3% at $6.286 per million British thermal units.
Market drivers
Front-month December WTI ended Friday at a nearly 2- month low after a 10% weekly fall, attributed in part to concerns over Chinese demand as the country continued to impose lockdowns in its bid to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Monday locked down its largest district, suspending public transit and requiring residents to present a negative test if they want to leave their homes, the Associated Press reported.
“The prospect of more restrictions and therefore lower demand in China has weighed on crude prices recently. Brent slipped back below $90 last week and could register the fourth day of declines if it remains in the red,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda. “We’re seeing bleak economic prospects all around the globe which continues to weigh on oil prices and if interest rates keep rising as they are, expectations will likely deteriorate further.”
