Oil prices have edged down amid declining factory output in China and Japan, as well as a record rise in US crude output.
International Brent crude futures decreased 0.5% at $66.04 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell 0.3% at $56.78 a barrel, Reuters reported.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Crude oil production in the US has increased by more than two million barrels per day (Mbpd) over the last year to 12.1Mbpd, dragging down oil prices.
Official data revealed that China’s factory output weakened this month due to a reduction in export orders at the fastest pace since the global financial crisis ten years ago.
London Capital Group research head Jasper Lawler told the news agency: “Further evidence of a slowdown in China hit risk sentiment.”
Oil producers are reducing prices due to weak demand from China.
Japan’s factory output also posted the biggest decline last month, as China’s slowdown affects the entire region.
A two-day summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam ended with no agreement, due to which financial markets came under pressure.
Trump and Kim Jong-un could not reach an agreement on denuclearising North Korea.
However, supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), together with some non-affiliated producers such as Russia, offered some support to oil prices.
Due to these reductions, commercial crude inventories in the US declined 8.6 million barrels in the week ending 22 February to 445.87 million barrels.
