SINGAPORE- Oil prices dropped on Tuesday for a second straight session as the cons of a slowing global demand outlook outweighed the pros of OPEC’s agreement with associated producers at the end of last week to deepen crude output cuts in early 2020.
Brent futures were down 11 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $64.14 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate oil futures were down 7 cents, or 0.1 percent to $58.95 a barrel. The benchmarks fell 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent respectively on Monday.
“The euphoria (on output cuts) was short lived, with an unexpected fall in exports from China highlighting the impact of the trade conflict,” said ANZ Bank in a note on Tuesday.
Data released on Sunday showed exports from China in November fell 1.1 percent from a year earlier, confounding expectations for a 1 percent rise in a Reuters poll.
That weakness came amid with fresh fronts in the trade war between Washington and Beijing that has stymied global economic growth coming up fast: Washington’s next round of tariffs against some $156 billion Chinese goods are scheduled to take effect on Dec. 15.
US President Donald Trump does not want to implement the next round of tariffs, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Monday – but he wants “movement” from China to avoid them.
“With the swathe of new tariffs due to kick in on 15 December, the market is watching negotiations closely,” said ANZ. – Reuters
