The oil market has been undermined by the weak statistical data from China and steady reinforcement of the U.S. dollar.
Brent futures for deliveries in November dropped $0.31 to $96.69 per barrel. Light Sweet Crude Oil futures fell $0.55 to $92.99 per barrel. Brent closed last week at $95.60 hitting a low of July 2012. Importantly, Brent was trading at $115 in June.
In August, China’s manufacturing companies recorded a 0.6% loss in profits as compared to August a year ago. Profits of Chinese manufacturing companies surged 13.5% in July.
Today, the U.S. dollar spiked to a four-year maximum against the other major currencies.
Last week, Iran called on the OPEC countries to make joint efforts preventing oil prices from further decline. However, no feedback has followed from the countries of the economic cartel.