Oil prices fell slightly on Monday following a disappointing Chinese economic indicator but remain boosted by OPEC+ production limits.
Around 09:50 GMT (11:50 a.m. in Paris), a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in December yielded 1.01% to 96.93 dollars.
A barrel of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery fell 0.90% to 91.81 dollars.
Earlier in the session, Brent rose to $98.75 and WTI to $93.55, highs since late August.
After a week of gains, investors are letting oil catch its breath as services activity contracted in September in China, according to the independent Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released over the weekend.
This new signal of weakness from the world’s largest importer of crude is a reminder that China’s zero Covid strategy policy, with very strict confinements, is weighing on its economy and might limit demand.
“Because of China’s economic difficulties, the confinements might be lifted following the Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)” which begins in October, comments Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM.
Black gold prices remain up 17% for Brent and 22% for WTI in two weeks.
“Investors started increasing their Brent bets ahead of last week’s OPEC+ meeting,” ING analysts said.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) ignored the demands of consumer countries, first and foremost the United States, and decided to cut its production targets.
Monday, volumes should be reduced by the absence of US investors due to a holiday, Columbus Day, in the United States.
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