Oil benchmarks slip

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SINGAPORE- Oil prices extended declines on Monday as the threat of a supply disruption from a US storm eased and after China’s stimulus plan disappointed investors seeking fuel demand growth in the world’s No. 2 oil consumer.

Brent crude futures dropped 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $73.68 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $70.13 a barrel, down 25 cents, or 0.4 percent.

Both benchmarks fell more than 2 percent last Friday.

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Beijing’s stimulus package announced at the National People’s Congress (NPC) standing committee meeting on Friday fell short of market expectations, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note, adding that its murky forward guidance hinted at only modest stimulus for housing and consumption.

ANZ analysts said the lack of direct fiscal stimulus implied that Chinese policymakers have left room for assessing the impact of the policies the next US administration will introduce.

“The market will now shift focus to the Politburo meeting and Central Economic Work Conference in December, where we expect more pro-consumption countercyclical measures to be announced,” they added in a note. Oil consumption in China, the world’s driver of global demand growth for years, has barely grown in 2024 as its economic growth has slowed, gasoline use has declined with the rapid growth of electric vehicles and liquefied natural gas has replaced diesel as a truck fuel.

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