Crude oil futures ended lower on Tuesday amid renewed worries about the outlook for energy demand due to continued surge in coronavirus cases in several countries. The drop in prices was also due to Saudi Arabia's decision to slash crude prices for Asia. Further, uncertainty about the pace of global economic recovery following last week's somewhat disappointing US non-farm payrolls data also weighed on oil prices. However, data showing a strong rebound in China's imports and exports capped oil's losses. China's exports increased by 25.6% year-on-year in August, beating street's forecast of 17.1%. In July, exports surged up 17.1%. Imports were up 33.1% annually in August, after a 28.1% increase a month earlier. China's trade surplus stood at $58.34 billion in August, well above the expected level of $51.05 billion.
Crude oil futures for October fell $0.94 or 1.4 percent to settle $68.35 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. November Brent crude dropped $0.61 or 0.85% percent to settle at $71.61 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.