The current price of US WTI crude oil is hanging around the $90 a barrel mark in trading this morning and could face further downward selling pressure as data from some of the the world’s biggest economies including China and Germany disappoint.
Latest WTI Oil Price
US Light crude oil futures for June 2013 delivery was trading at $89.53 a barrel, 09:46 GMT in electronic trading on the NYMEX. On Tuesday, New York’s main contract shed 57 cents to $88.62 a barrel.
Chinese Data Disappoints
China is the world’s biggest energy consuming nation and the health of its economy is closely watched by oil traders and investors alike.
“Crude oil prices came under renewed pressure on Tuesday following disappointing Chinese manufacturing and industrial data that hurt market sentiment, confirming the view that when ‘China coughs, the rest of the world catches a cold’,” said Sucden analyst Myrto Sokou.
HSBC reported that preliminary data showed manufacturing activity in China slowed in April due to sluggish foreign demand.
Meanwhile, German data has once again raised concerns about the health of the euro zone economy. A survey showed Germany’s private sector shrank for the first time in five months in April. The soft German data added to worries about the global economic outlook and may well send oil prices lower as there is a strong connection with demand and the price of oil.
In America the flash manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 52.0 in April which is the lowest reading in six months.
Clues in US Stockpiles
Investors are now waiting for the latest data on US stockpiles of crude and refined products. Data for the week ending April 19th is expected to show an increase of 1.4 million barrels in crude oil stocks, according to a survey of analysts by Platts.
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US WTI crude oil price hanging at $90 and could face downward selling
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