Crude oil futures ended deeply in red on Monday on concerns about outlook for energy demand after weak manufacturing data from China and Europe. China’s National Bureau of Statistics said that the nation’s factory activity contracted in July. The data said the country’s manufacturing PMI fell to 49 in the month from 50.2 a month earlier, due to fresh Covid-19 outbreaks. Also, traders appeared reluctant to create fresh long positions in the commodity ahead of this week's OPEC+ meeting, in which the group is set to consider keeping output unchanged for September.
Benchmark crude oil futures for September delivery fell $4.73 or 4.8 percent to settle at $93.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October delivery dropped $3.94 or 3.8 percent to settle at $100.03 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.