Oil prices turned lower on Wednesday, August 16th, extending the previous session's losses of 1%, as weak economic data from China outweighed the scarcity of US crude supplies.
Brent crude futures fell 21 cents to $84.68 a barrel at 02:49 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 20 cents to $80.79. Both benchmarks fell to their lowest levels since Aug. 8 on Tuesday.
Analyst reports
ANZ analysts said in a note to clients that concerns that the faltering Chinese economy will affect demand outweighed the impact of the lack of supply in the oil market.
And market sources announced, quoting figures from the American Petroleum Institute, that crude inventories in the United States fell by about 6.2 million barrels last week. That was much more than analysts polled by Reuters had expected, a decrease of 2.3 million.
China data
Still, Chinese economic activity data for July, released on Tuesday, August 15, pushed the market lower, after retail sales, industrial production and investment missed expectations, raising concerns about a more severe and prolonged slowdown in the growth of the world's second-largest economy.
Beijing has cut key interest rates to support activity, but analysts say more support is needed to spur growth.
Activity data for July prompted some economists to point to the risk that China, the world's largest oil importer, may find it difficult to meet its growth target of around 5 percent for this year without more fiscal stimulus.
Meanwhile, stronger-than-expected retail sales data in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, raised concerns that interest rates may remain high for a longer period.
Higher borrowing costs for businesses and consumers could slow economic growth and reduce demand for oil.
