Oil extended two weeks of losses after data from China reignited concerns about a patchy recovery in the world’s biggest crude importer.
(Bloomberg) — Oil extended two weeks of losses after data from China reignited concerns about a patchy recovery in the world’s biggest crude importer.
West Texas Intermediate futures fell 2.3%, after strong US company earnings helped to pare a weekly drop on Friday. China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in April, data released Sunday showed, in a sign the nation’s economy may be struggling to regain momentum even as consumers splurged at the start of the Labor Day break.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s winning bid to acquire First Republic Bank in an emergency government-led intervention fed into broader market concerns about the stability of different lenders.
Hedge funds and money managers have turned deeply bearish on crude after prices swung sharply in April — surging to a 15-month high after OPEC and its allies announced an output cut, before giving up those gains amid a deteriorating outlook. With China on holiday through Wednesday, the focus will turn to whether major central banks including the Federal Reserve continue tightening rates.
“Investors remain cautious amid mixed economic signals,” ANZ Banking Group Ltd. analysts Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes said in a note. “A hawkish tone from the Fed could put pressure on energy and metals.”
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–With assistance from Ben Bartenstein.
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