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Brent crude was down 58 cents, or 0.8%, at $70.01 a barrel by
0943 GMT. U.S. oil fell by 64 cents, or 0.9%, to $67.80. Both
contracts dropped by more than $1 earlier in the session.
Chinese factory output and retail sales growth slowed sharply in
July, data showed, missing expectations as flooding and fresh
outbreaks of COVID-19 disrupted business activity.
China's crude oil processing last month also fell to the lowest
level on a daily basis since May 2020 as independent refiners
cut production in the face of tighter quotas, elevated
inventories and falling profits. China is the world's biggest
oil importer.
"(Concerns) about the spread of the Delta variant in China and
the effects this will have on oil demand are continuing to weigh
on prices," Commerzbank said in a note.
Doubts about the speed of economic recovery were also heightened
after U.S. consumer sentiment dropped sharply in early August to
its lowest in a decade, a University of Michigan survey showed
late last week.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) last week said that rising
demand for crude oil reversed course in July and was expected to
increase at a slower rate over the rest of 2021 because of
surging COVID-19 infections from the Delta variant.
Money managers reduced their net-long U.S. crude futures and
options holdings in the week to Aug. 10, the U.S. Commodity
Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
Speculators also cut their futures and options positions in New
York and London by 21,777 contracts to 283,601 over the period,
the CFTC said.
(Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in TokyoEditing by
David Goodman)
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