Crude prices sink to 7-month low as outlook for demand darkens | Financial Times

Crude prices sink to 7-month low as outlook for demand darkens | Financial Times:

Crude prices plummeted to a seven-month low, dropping below $57 a barrel, as the escalating trade war tensions between the US and China hit the outlook for oil demand.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, slid as much as 3.9 per cent to $56.67 a barrel, the lowest level since January and down over 25 per cent from the highest peak of the year reached in April. Western Texas Intermediate, the US marker, dropped almost 4 per cent to $52.04 a barrel.

The drop in crude prices has taken down the stocks of oil companies with it, with the share price of ExxonMobil, BP and Royal Dutch Shell all declining by more than 7 per cent in the past week.