Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Monday, as market sentiment was weighed by concerns about weak demand in top oil importer China, while investors focused on progress in Middle East ceasefire talks that could reduce supply risks.
price movement
Brent crude futures were down 13 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $79.55 a barrel by 0032 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 13 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $76.52 a barrel.
Both benchmarks fell about 2 percent when contracts settled on Friday as investors tempered their expectations for growing demand from China, but ended the week largely unchanged from the previous week after a slew of U.S. data last week showed slowing inflation and strong retail spending.
Ongoing concerns about slowing demand in China have led to a wave of selling, said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities, adding that another factor was the approaching end of the peak summer driving season in the United States.
Tensions in the Middle East and the escalation of the war between Russia and Ukraine, which pose risks to supplies, support the market.
China's economy lost momentum in July, data showed on Thursday, with new home prices falling at the fastest pace in nine years, industrial production slowing and unemployment rising.
This raised concerns among traders about weak demand from China, where refineries sharply cut crude processing rates last month due to weak fuel demand.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Sunday for another Middle East tour to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, but Hamas has cast doubt on the mission by accusing Israel of undermining his efforts.
The mediating powers, Qatar, the United States and Egypt, have so far failed to narrow differences enough to reach an agreement during months of on-off negotiations, and violence continued unabated in Gaza on Sunday.
