Oil futures: Crude extends losses, Brent tumbles below $72/b
Quantum Commodity Intelligence – Crude oil futures Monday were sharply lower for a second session as benchmarks extended losses following Friday's selloff.
Front-month Jan25 ICE Brent futures were trading at $71.87/b (1840 GMT), compared to Friday's settle of $73.87/b when prices also dropped $2/b.
At the same time, Dec24 NYMEX WTI was trading at $68.18/b versus Friday's settle of $70.38/b.
Prices have been under pressure since the US election amid fears that a Trump administration will spark a tariff-led trade war, while the new President is expected to unveil plans to boost US oil and gas production.
Trump has also pledged to drive peace deals in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine conflicts, although on the flipside, the new administration is expected to push for tighter enforcement of existing sanctions.
Dollar
Oil also took a further hit as the Dollar Index registered fresh four-month highs of around 105.50 points, making dollar-denominated imports more expensive.
Meanwhile, markets were left disappointed after Beijing announced a debt-swap plan on Friday, but this was not backed up with new stimulus money.
It was compounded by data from China over the weekend, revealing that consumer price growth remained close to zero while factory gate prices continued to drop.
Oil prices have also drifted lower after the threat from Hurricane Rafael to oil and gas production faded at the tail end of last week.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm is expected to meander over the central Gulf of Mexico before making a turn to the south and south-southwest on Monday and Tuesday.
