Oil falls over 3% on concerns over demand and OPEC supply boost | Reuters

Oil falls over 3% on concerns over demand and OPEC supply boost | Reuters

Oil prices fell more than 3% on Monday after weak economic data from China and the United States, the world's top oil consumers, and higher crude output from OPEC producers stoked fears of weakness in oil demand and oversupply.

Brent crude oil futures settled down $2.52, or 3.3%, at $72.89 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended $2.69, or 3.6%, lower at $71.26.

"Energy futures...are still expressing concerns over slowed production consumption as coronavirus cases are back on the rise in several regions of the U.S. as well as several countries overseas," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates LLC in Galena, Illinois.

China's factory activity growth slipped sharply in July as demand contracted for the first time in more than a year, a survey showed on Monday.

The weaker results in the private survey, mostly covering export-oriented and small manufacturers, broadly aligned with those in an official survey released on Saturday. read more