Oil settles at 8-month low after disappointing US job numbers
Oil prices fell on Friday, settling at their lowest since January after data showed the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected last month, and weak Chinese economic data added more pressure.
Brent crude futures settled down $2.71, or 3.41%, to $76.81 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled down $2.79, or 3.66%, at $73.52.
At their session lows, both benchmarks fell by more than $3 per barrel.
U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in July and unemployment increased to 4.3%, pointing to raising fears of a possible recession.
«We moved from a demand-driven market to a geopolitical one for maybe two days then we absolutely nosedived on all this economic data,» said Tim Snyder, chief economist at Matador Economics.
Economic data from top oil importer China and surveys showing weaker manufacturing activity across Asia, Europe and the U.S. raised the risk of a sluggish global economic recovery that would weigh on oil consumption.
Falling manufacturing activity in China also inhibited prices, adding to concerns about demand growth after June data showed imports and refinery activity lower than a year earlier.
Asia's crude imports in July fell to their lowest in two years, sapped by weak demand in China and India, data from LSEG Oil Research showed.
Meanwhile, OPEC oil output rose in July, a Reuters survey found, as a rebound in Saudi Arabian supply and small increases elsewhere offset the impact of ongoing voluntary supply cuts by other members and the wider OPEC+ alliance.
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