FXStreet (Mumbai) – Oil benchmarks on both sides of Atlantic took another beating this Tuesday, extending its rout to the eight straight session and hover close to multi-year lows.
Brent hits new 12 year lows in Asia
Currently, WTI drops over 1.38% to 30.98, while the Brent oil drops to the lowest levels since April 2004 at 31.43, down -0.47% on the day. Both crude benchmarks extend their downward spiral and reach almost a 20% drop so far this year, as omnipresent oversupply worries, China slowdown fears and analysts slashing their 2016 price outlooks, continue to dampen the sentiment around the black gold.
Moreover, rising concerns over the Chinese economic growth outlook leaves markets worried over the Chinese energy demand. China is the world’s second largest consumer of oil.
While reports of the Western sanctions on Iranian oil could be lifted any time soon and hence, would accentuate the pain in an already oversupplied market, also weighs heavily on the oil prices. At the same, Saudi continues to pump oil at a fast clip in a bid to keep up the market share.
Looking ahead, amidst China turmoil and excess supplies worries, the focus now remains on the US weekly stockpiles report from the API and EIA for fresh cues on the prices.
(Market News Provided by FXstreet)