LONDON: Brent oil fell below US$97 a barrel yesterday, moving closer to a two-year low hit last week as weak data from major buyer China and a stronger US dollar added to pressure from heavy supply.
The international benchmark for crude has fallen from US$115 in June as geopolitical tension in the Middle East failed to derail oil output, while concerns about slow demand have grown.
Brent for November delivery fell 21 cents to US$96.79 a barrel by 1422GMT.
Front-month prices fell to an intraday low of US$95.60 on September 24, the lowest since July 2012.
US crude, also known as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), slipped two cents to US$93.52 a barrel after jumping just over US$1 on Friday on the back of strong US economic data.
Its discount to Brent narrowed to the smallest in 12 months, touching US$3.20 a barrel, before widening back to US$3.27 a barrel.
“Traders are primarily focused on macro data this week and the Chinese numbers over the weekend were reasonably bearish, keeping the downtrend in oil intact,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, analyst at VTB Capital in London. Reuters