Global oil benchmark Brent futures fell more than 2 per cent on Monday on global growth concerns after US President Donald Trump last week threatened China with more tariffs, which could limit crude demand from the world’s two biggest buyers.
Brent crude fell $1.38, or 2.2 per cent, to $60.51 a barrel by 12:49 p.m. EDT (1649 GMT).
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 28 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $55.38 a barrel, finding some support from a draw in inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub and delivery hub for WTI.
Stocks at Cushing fell nearly 2.4 million barrels in the week to Aug. 2, traders said citing data from market intelligence firm Genscape. The front-month WTI contract traded at a premium of 12 cents to the second-month, the highest since April.
