Oil prices fell by more than 3% on September 3. There is news that an agreement is going to be reached soon to resolve the dispute, due to which oil production and export in Libya has been stopped. Due to this, prices have reached the lowest level since the beginning of this year.
The news of a possible increase in crude supply has come at a time when prices are already falling due to the slowdown in China’s economic growth. China is the world’s largest crude importer. At 1333 GMT, Brent crude was trading at $ 74.44 per barrel, down $ 3.08 or 4 percent, which is the lowest level since December. Also, West Texas Intermediate crude futures had reached $ 71, down $ 2.55 or 3.5 percent, which is the lowest level since January.
On September 2, Libya stopped oil exports at major ports and also cut production across the country. This situation arose due to a deadlock with the central bank and rival political factions over oil revenue. Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) had stopped work in the oil fields from September 2.
Apart from the Libya incident, weak economic data from China also caused a fall in oil prices. According to experts, Chinese manufacturing PMI being weaker than expected may increase concerns about China’s economy and its impact was also seen on oil prices.
