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raft of disappointing economic news from China, the world's
largest crude importer, has been weighing on commodity prices.
China's manufacturing activity likely shrank for a third month
in July, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.
Brent crude slipped by 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $79.62 a barrel by
1042 GMT. It fell intraday to $79.34, the lowest since June 10.
U.S. crude was down 11 cents, or 0.2%, at $75.70.
"Macroeconomic considerations keep shaping investors'
sentiment," said Tamas Varga from oil broker PVM. "Chinese
economic turmoil, including sluggish growth and falling crude
oil imports, is still a major driving force for our market."
Even as Chinese leaders vowed to step up support for the
economy, expectations on the extent of such measures have been
limited since the Third Plenum, a policy meeting in mid-July,
largely reiterated existing economic policy goals.
Coming up on Thursday, top ministers from OPEC+, the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries along with
allies led by Russia, will meet to review the market, including
a plan to start unwinding some output cuts from October. No
changes are currently expected.
Oil fell 2% in the previous session after Israel signalled that
its response to a rocket strike in Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights on Saturday would be calculated to avoid dragging the
Middle East into an all-out war.
In OPEC-member Venezuela, the opposition said it had won 73% of
the vote in Sunday's presidential election, despite the national
electoral authority having declared incumbent Nicolas Maduro the
winner.
"Nicolas Maduro's victory in the latest Venezuelan election is a
headwind for global supply, as this could result in tighter U.S.
sanctions," ANZ analysts said in a note, estimating that such a
scenario could cut Venezuela's exports by 100,000-120,000
barrels per day.
Some support could come from the latest U.S. inventory reports
due this week, which are expected to show lower crude and fuel
stocks.
(Additional reporting by Colleen Howe in Beijing and Jeslyn Lerh
in Singapore; Editing by Helen Popper and Louise Heavens)
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