Oil declines on investors' assessment of demand prospects from China

Oil prices declined significantly on Tuesday evening, mainly due to investor concerns about the future demand for oil from China. 

According to the trading data, the price of Brent crude futures fell by 2.08% and amounted to $84.39 per barrel. American light oil WTI also lost in price, reaching $80.48 per barrel: the drop was 2.44%.

Charu Chanana, market strategist at Saxo Capital Markets Pte, expressed her concern about the situation in China, arguing that recent weak economic data indicate growing pressure on oil demand. She predicts that in the third quarter, the price of Brent will fluctuate between $80 and $90 per barrel.

This negative trend seems to have been caused by economic statistics from China. Industrial production in China in July showed an increase of only 3.7% year-on-year, which is less than the expected growth of 4.4%. Other indicators are also worrisome: exports decreased by 14.5%, imports fell by 12.4%, and the consumer price index decreased by 0.3%. At the same time, the producer price index fell by 1.4%. 

These data indicate a general decline in economic activity in China, which may cause a decrease in demand for oil on the world market.